2
Energy, Poverty, and
Development
Convening Lead Authors (CLA)
Stephen Karekezi (AFREPREN/FWD, Kenya)
Susan McDade (United Nations Development Programme)
Lead Authors (LA)
Brenda Boardman (University of Oxford, UK)
John Kimani (AFREPREN/FWD, Kenya)
Review Editor
Nora Lustig (Tulane University, USA)
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Contents
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
2.1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
2.1.1
Poverty and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
2.2
Energy and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
2.3
Household Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
2.4
Energy and Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
2.5
Energy and Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
2.6
Energy and Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
2.7
Energy and Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
2.8
Energy and Health. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
2.9
Energy and Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
2.10
Energy and Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
2.11
Energy and Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
2.12
Conclusions and the Way Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
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Executive Summary
There is often a two-way relationship between the lack of access to adequate and affordable energy services and
poverty. The relationship is, in many respects, a vicious cycle in which people who lack access to cleaner and affordable
energy are often trapped in a re-enforcing cycle of deprivation, lower incomes and the means to improve their living
conditions while at the same time using significant amounts of their very limited income on expensive and unhealthy
forms of energy that provide poor and/or unsafe services.
Access to cleaner and affordable energy options is essential for improving the livelihoods of the poor in developing
countries. The link between energy and poverty is demonstrated by the fact that the poor in developing countries
constitute the bulk of an estimated 2.7 billion people relying on traditional biomass for cooking and the overwhelming
majority of the 1.4 billion without access to grid electricity. Most of the people still reliant on traditional biomass live in
Africa and South Asia.
Limited access to modern and affordable energy services is an important contributor to the poverty levels in developing
countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of Asia. Access to modern forms of energy is essential to
overcome poverty, promote economic growth and employment opportunities, support the provision of social services,
and, in general, promote sustainable human development. It is also an essential input for achieving most Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) – a useful reference of progress against poverty by 2015 and a benchmark for possible
progress much beyond that. Poverty alleviation and the achievement of the MDGs will not be possible as long as there
are billions of people who do not have access to electricity and or to cleaner and better quality as well as adequate
supplies of cooking fuels or with limited access to affordable and more efficient end-use energy devices such as
improved cookstoves (those using traditional fuels but burning in a cleaner fashion), proper heating, more efficient
lights, water pumps, low-cost agro-processing equipment as well as energy-efficient housing and transportation options.
The lack of modern and affordable forms of energy affects agricultural and economic productivity, time budgets,
opportunities for income generation, and more generally the ability to improve living conditions. Low agricultural and
economic productivity as well as diminished livelihood opportunities in turn result in malnourishment, low earnings, and
no or little surplus cash. This contributes to the poor remaining poor, and consequently they cannot afford to pay for
cleaner or improved forms of energy (often neither the fuels nor the equipment). In this sense the problem of poverty
remains closely intertwined with a lack of cleaner and affordable energy services.
On the other hand, when the poor gain access to stable electricity supplies or cleaner fuels that can support job
creation, trade, and value-adding activities within the family, they are able to accumulate the small levels of
“surplus” or savings that facilitate access to education and health services, improved nutrition, or improved
housing conditions that in turn enable them to gradually escape their poverty.
Cleaner affordable forms of energy and the energy services that they provide, reverses the aforementioned vicious cycle
as they contribute to building a basis for supporting job creation, economic growth, agriculture, education, commerce,
and health – the key areas that can contribute to overcoming poverty, as the following examples demonstrate:
• Energy plays a vital role in enhancing the food security of the poor through greater use of energy technologies for
irrigation and water pumping. A number of these technologies not only ensure food supply throughout the year but
also generate additional income for poor households, particularly in rural areas.
• Access to modern and affordable forms of energy is essential to creating employment, which can directly reduce
poverty levels. Employment in formal and non-formal sector activities is positively correlated to increased access to
cleaner energy options such as electricity, as is workers’ productivity in value-adding processes.
• Increased access to modern forms of energy contribute to the transformation of agriculture-based economies – where
significant animate energy is used – into industry-based economies, where modern forms of energy play a key role in
the more-advanced value-added activities that characterize more industrialized economies.
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• Improved low-cost cookstoves reduce the amount of fuel used, which translates into direct cash savings. They also
reduce respiratory health problems associated with smoke emission from traditional biomass stoves and offer a
better home and working environment. Other benefits include the alleviation of the burden placed on women and
children in fuel collection, freeing up more time for women to engage in other activities, especially income-generating
endeavors.
• Modern forms of energy play an important role in improving access to safe water and sanitation in developing
countries.
• Modern health services (the facilities to provide them, and the professional and health sector workers who deliver
them) are greatly enhanced by access to modern forms of energy and the services they provide, not only electricity for
lighting, refrigeration and modern medical equipment but also heat-related services often linked to the availability of
cleaner and affordable fuels for institutional uses.
• Access to modern forms of energy greatly improves the quality and availability of educational services and increases
the likelihood that children will attend and complete schooling. Rural electrification helps retain good teachers in rural
areas – a key lever for enhancing the quality of rural education.
• Gender parity and school enrollment of girls improve with greater access to cleaner and affordable energy options,
especially in rural areas. Access to mechanical power for threshing and grinding grains help older girls stay in school
by minimizing school absenteeism or desertion, while cleaner modern cooking systems reduce the time spent by girls
on fuelwood collection for their families.
Universal access to electricity and modern as well as cleaner forms of energy for cooking provide a wide range of highquality energy services even when the amount of energy used is modest. Given the important contribution of access
to cleaner and affordable energy options to the improvement of livelihoods of poor people in developing countries,
special attention should be paid to extending universal access to electricity and modern forms of energy for cooking in
developing countries.
From a policy and public financing point of view, there is a need to alleviate the negative income effect of time use and
family expenditure related to the use of traditional fuels and to overcome the barriers related to household energy. In
developing countries, where poor people are highly dependent on traditional fuels that have incomplete combustion in
inefficient devices, much greater emphasis must be given to increasing the availability and affordability of liquid and
gaseous fuels and associated stove technologies. Special attention should also be paid to mechanical power solutions
and labor-saving appliances that can provide homestead-based pumping, agro-processing, milling, and grinding, among
other services. These are also critically important for gender and health reasons, as discussed later in this chapter.
The absence of mechanical options in many rural areas of the developing world, to provide access to mechanical power
for water pumping, milling, or other household activities is also related to the absence of affordable and cleaner fuels or
electricity to drive engines, mills, and pumps to supplement human labor (see Chapters 19, 23 and 25). The absence of
mechanical power affects not only the poorest families, particularly girls and women, but often entire geographic areas
due to the distances from electricity supply and cleaner fuel delivery systems.
Prioritizing access to electricity and energy-using technology for commercial/productive activities (as opposed to only
low-load household activities) could increase employment opportunities that can contribute to income generation
and the fight against poverty, especially for the working poor. Access to more efficient, cleaner and affordable energy
options is an effective tool for combating extreme hunger by increasing food productivity and reducing post-harvest
losses.
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Low-cost energy-efficient transportation for both passengers and goods is crucial for economic development. This is
particularly important for long-distance transit of passengers and goods. Rail transport is considered the least expensive
energy-efficient land transport option for long-distance passenger travel and has been developed extensively in
industrial countries in the form of surface and underground rail networks. For freight transportation, with the exception
of India and China, many developing countries make limited use of lower-cost energy-efficient rail transport mainly due
to its lack of sustained investment.
There are several health-related benefits associated with access to modern, cleaner and affordable energy options.
Electricity in rural health centers, allows the provision of medical services at night, greater use of more advanced
medical equipment, helps retain qualified staff in rural health centers among other benefits. In this regard, one of Global
Energy Assessment (GEA)’s goals is achieving universal access to electricity and cleaner cooking by 2030. It should,
however, be emphasized that access to electricity and cleaner cooking fuels constitute only a part of the desired policy
objective of reducing poverty – they are a prerequisite, but electricity supply and cleaner cooking fuels, on their own, are
not sufficient to move out of poverty.
Access to modern and affordable forms of energy can play an important role in improving access to safe water and
sanitation in developing countries. Some of the energy solutions available are relatively affordable for the poor and do
not require electricity or fossil fuels. Low-cost mechanical options can play an important role in ensuring access to safe
water. For example, hand pumps and wind pumps are robust technologies that can dramatically expand access to safe
water for domestic use as well as for irrigation and watering livestock.
The challenge of providing safe water and sanitation facilities is still immense particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where
more than half the urban population lives in slums – a sizable part of the more than 825 million people living in urban
dwellings without improved sources of drinking water and sanitation. Solar, wind, handpumps and biogas options can
play an important role in enhanced access to safe water and sanitation in low-income peri-urban and urban of subSaharan Africa.
Prevailing energy systems in developing countries and associated economic and welfare policies need to be redesigned
to ensure an emphatic pro-poor orientation that will move toward universal access to cleaner and affordable forms of
energy in key economic sectors that the poor rely on such as health, water, education, agriculture and transport.
Access to electricity supply (both grid and non-grid) in many developing countries is almost an exclusive service enjoyed
by the non-poor in urban areas. Even after two decades of energy sector reforms, initial indications from a wide range
of developing countries indicate that few of the initiatives have resulted in significant improvement in the provision of
electricity to the world’s poor.
Experiences in developing countries point to an overarching conclusion: when power sector reforms were introduced
with the sole intention of improving the performance of utilities, the expected and hoped-for social benefits did not
necessarily follow. Where governments maintained a role as instigator or at least regulator of improved access to
electricity by the poor, tariffs for poor households tended to decrease and levels and rates of electrification tended to
increase.
In some cases, wide-scale deployment of renewable energy systems may provide the best options for providing access
to cleaner and modern energy options while ensuring long-term sustainability. In the near term, however, cleaner
fossil fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) combined with more efficient and low-cost end-uses devices such
as LPG cookstoves reduce a host of social, economic, and environmental barriers to overcoming poverty due to higher
combustion efficiency.
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The ongoing search for win-win solutions that are completely reliant on renewable energy must also put a time
premium on overcoming social injustice and the conditions of inequality that entrench poverty and reproduce
underdevelopment. From a policy point of view, it is unrealistic to support arguments for “near-term renewables only”
options that delay the satisfaction of the basic needs of people who remain poor today and who constitute a negligible
contributor to global historical and current carbon emissions. It is, therefore, important to retain cleaner fossil fuel
options such as LPG combined with more efficient low-cost end-use devices in near-term priority action plans that
would set the stage for eventually moving the poor to a fully sustainable path that they are able to rely more heavily on
renewable energy.
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2.1
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the situation of poor people – especially in developing countries – paying particular attention to their access to cleaner and
affordable energy options. Poverty, as discussed in this chapter, includes
concepts of both lack of access to income and inequality as well as limited
access to services (such as access to cleaner energy options), opportunities and social exclusion, which are often intimately linked to inequality.
The chapter calls for setting of targets for bringing cleaner and affordable energy options to a wider proportion of the poor at affordable
prices – plus the policy frameworks and the public and private investment needed to make this a reality.
The issue of access to cleaner and affordable energy options is emphasized here in line with the GEA goal of providing universal access to
affordable electricity and affordable cleaner forms of energy for cooking by 2030. However, this 2030 goal requires substantial investments
as well as a transition from the use of traditional solid fuels such as
biomass and coal to cleaner energy carriers such as gas, electricity and
liquid fuels. These investments and transition require sufficient time for
low-income countries to establish the right institutions, regulation and
policies that would enable mobilization and appropriate deployment of
the required capital investments.
While the term “access” can simply refer to physical proximity to modern energy carriers such as electricity, natural gas, liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG), biogas and ethanol, access also implies the availability of
affordable improved and more efficient end-use energy devices such
as improved cookstoves (those using traditional fuels but burning in
a cleaner fashion), more efficient lights, water pumps, low-cost agroprocessing equipment as well as energy-efficient housing and transportation options. In a much broader sense, access refers to the affordable
and stable services of cleaner energy options that are delivered in a
reliable fashion and ensure consistent quality (see also Chapter 19).
GEA considers universal energy access to refer to access to affordable
modern energy carriers (e.g., electricity, natural gas, LPG, biogas, ethanol) including a wide array of efficient low-cost end-use options used by
the poor in agro-processing, small-scale value addition processes, water
pumping, housing and transportation as well as energy-efficient devices
such as improved cookstoves and affordable, advanced stoves that use
traditional fuels for cooking, by 2030.
This chapter focuses on developing countries for several reasons. The
bulk of poor people in the world live in developing countries and require
energy to support poverty alleviation, economic growth, social inclusion
and development. The chapter focuses first on the concept of poverty:
who are poor people and where they live.
It goes on to examine the historic worldwide relationship between
access to energy services and development, arguing that developing
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countries also need to have access to improved energy services
in order to overcome poverty, especially the most extreme forms
faced by the lowest fifth of income earners around the world. The
specific role of energy services – those provided by modern energy
carriers such as electricity and fuels such as LPG, biogas and ethanol – is discussed in this chapter in relation to both household and
productive energy applications. The essential role that energy plays
in supporting job creation, economic growth, agriculture, transport,
and commerce is reviewed, as these are key factors for overcoming
poverty.
The importance of energy as an input to support the delivery of services
such as education, health, and other social services is examined, followed by an analysis of the particular hardships faced by women in relation to traditional energy systems and their impacts on women’s time
use, literacy, and health. The importance of energy for the achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is also briefly illustrated
by showing that energy is an essential input to each MDG. The local,
regional, and global environmental impacts of energy use in developing
countries are discussed, with an emphasis on the extremely small historical and current contribution made to global green house emissions
by the poorest people in the world.
The chapter concludes that special emphasis must be given to extending
universal access to electricity and modern forms of energy for cooking in developing countries and that the switch from traditional solid
fuels to cleaner liquid fuels and combustion technologies constitute an
essential step for overcoming poverty and supporting economic growth
and sustainable human development. It is recommended that nearuniversal access is needed in developing countries due to the range of
high-quality energy services that this carrier provides, even when it is
available only in small amounts.
Specifically, with regard to electricity, this chapter argues that access
to electricity as a carrier is only part of the desired policy objective of
reducing poverty – it is a prerequisite, but electricity supply, in itself, is
not sufficient for poor households to move out of poverty. The ultimate,
well-being of people depends on the actual consumption of goods and
services that electricity as a carrier can facilitate. Equally important is
access to cleaner or modern forms of energy for cooking and fueling a
wide array of energy efficient and low-cost end-use options and devices
used by the poor in agro-processing, small scale value-addition processes, water pumping, housing and transportation.
Looking toward 2030, the need to focus on improving access to energy
services in developing countries becomes even more crucial due to
their higher population growth and their potential for higher economic
growth rates, implying that the decisions taken regarding the nature of
emerging energy systems in terms of energy sources, conversion technologies, and distribution and financing systems are important not only
to developing countries but to the world as a whole throughout this
century.
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2.1.1
Poverty and Development
Economic growth is an essential prerequisite for overcoming poverty.
No country has achieved sustained economic growth without improving access to cleaner and modern forms of energy and the services that
they provide. It is also globally recognized – based on the experiences
of most industrial countries – that policies to “share” the benefits of
growth are needed to address inequality and combat poverty. Energy
services to support economic growth and energy policies to combat
inequality in human welfare are thus both critically important.
Using an absolute poverty line set at US2005$1.25 per day per capita
(purchasing power parities (PPP)), the number of poor people worldwide fell from 1.8 billion in 1990 to 1.4 billion in 2005 (see Figure 2.1)
in spite of population growth – a tremendous achievement based on
the economic growth experienced worldwide during this period (UN,
2010a). According to the World Bank, the financial and food crises of
recent years unfortunately pushed another 64 million people back into
extreme poverty (World Bank, 2010a).
Table 2.1, provides a comparison of poverty trends in 1999, 2002 and
2005. It shows a substantial drop in poverty levels in East Asia and
Pacific (particularly China) and highlights the continued high-levels of
poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Using the multidimensional poverty index (MPI) recently developed jointly by Oxford University and United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), it is estimated that, worldwide, a larger proportion
of humanity, about 1.75 billion, remains poor. The MPI is an advanced
method of measuring poverty by determining the extent of deprivation
among poor people across three key dimensions, namely: health, education and living standards. MPI also takes into account access to essential
services such as electricity, water and sanitation in order to measure the
magnitude of poverty (UNDP, 2010; Alkire et al., 2011).
Chapter 2
Table 2.1 | Proportion of people with incomes below US2005$1.25 per day PPP (%).
Year
Region
1999
2002
2005
Sub-Saharan Africa
58.4
55.0
50.9
South Asia
44.1
43.8
40.3
East Asia and Pacific
35.5
27.6
16.8
Latin America and Caribbean
11.0
10.7
8.1
Europe and Central Asia
5.1
4.6
3.7
Middle East and North Africa
4.2
3.6
3.6
Source: World Bank, 2011a.
Using the MPI methodology, available data (Figure 2.2) re-confirms the
fact that the greatest concentrations of poor people live in the least
developed countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Both income-defined and MPI poverty measurements leave out the
fundamental issue of income distribution within countries. Today the
World Bank, the United Nations system, and economists that work
on poverty indicators at large argue that it is essential to look at not
only the aspects of poverty expressed by income levels alone, but also
at equity measures such as how the lowest 20% of the population
(determined by income) fare in comparison to the top 20% in any
given country. The more unequal the income distribution, the less
likely it is that the poorest segment of the population will benefit from
growth, although overall national statistics may show positive trends
(UNDP, 2011).
Arab States, 2%
Lan America and
the Caribbean, 3%
Europe and Central
Asia, 1%
East Asia and the
Pacific, 15%
South Asia, 51%
Sub-Saharan
Africa, 28%
Figure 2.1 | Progress in poverty reduction. Source: World Bank, 2010a.
158
Figure 2.2 | Distribution of the poor (1.75 billion people) in developing countries
(using multidimensional poverty measurement). Source: UNDP, 2010.
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Chapter 2
classifications can be misleading because a number of the large
countries that have graduated into the middle-income countries
(MIC) category still have large number of poor people. In 1990, we
estimate that 93 per cent of the world’s poor people lived in LICs. In
contrast, in 2007–8 we estimate that three-quarters of the world’s
approximately 1.3 billion poor people now live in MICs and only
about a quarter of the world’s poor – about 370 million people live
in the remaining 39 low-income countries, which are largely in subSaharan Africa (Sumner, 2010).
80
Income Gini coefficient
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
C
N
am
ib
om ia
Bo oro
ts s
wa
n
Be a
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C go
l
o
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ut b
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r ic
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liv
ia
Br
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a
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N
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am a
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C d
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ng s
do
m
0
Figure 2.3 | Gini indices for selected developing countries (2000–2011*). Source:
adapted from UNDP, 2010; 2011. *Data refer to the most recent year available during
the period specified.
The Gini coefficient1, which compares income levels among the richest
and poorest segments of populations, is a useful indicator of inequality
(see Figure 2.3). Comparing the lowest 20% of income earners to those
who earn the most is also useful for understanding the role that inequality
plays in defining country contexts. Inequality has been increasing alongside growth and economic development around the world triggering new
development challenges – and therefore new energy challenges. Countries
which have a higher coefficient, even in situations where energy access
indicators show positive growth, the poorest segment of the population
may not be benefiting from the growth. Currently, Latin America, the
Caribbean region and Africa, are the most unequal regions in the world
(Gasparin et al., 2009; Rosenthal, 2010; Gasparin and Lustig, 2011).
While many developing countries, particularly in Latin America, the
Middle East, and Asia, have achieved significant growth and progress
in development indicators over the last 20 years, progress has often
not been evenly distributed across the population. As a result, inequality and increasingly unequal income distribution pushes more people
into poverty thus creating new development as well as public financing and service delivery challenges for governments. Turkey, Gabon and
South Africa, for instance, have made impressive advances in improving income per capita in the last decade, while levels of poverty and
inequality have persisted (UNDP, 2010). As Andy Sumner notes in Global
Poverty and the New Bottom Billion:
The global poverty problem has changed because most of the
world’s poor no longer live in poor countries meaning low-income
countries (LICs). In the past, poverty has been viewed as, predominantly, an LIC issue. Nowadays such simplistic assumptions/
1
Gini coefficient measures the extent to which the distribution of income, (at times
it includes consumption expenditure) among people or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. The values vary between 0, which
reflects complete equality and 1, indicating a complete inequality situation, where
one individual has all the income or consumption, while all the others have none).
The largest number of poor people who “moved” from poor countries to
middle-income ones are found in India, Nigeria, and Pakistan (Sumner,
2011). The two-tiered concept is itself questionable as it divides the
world into developing and developed countries, which is contradicted
by the emergence of the BRICS group, the rapidly growing and industrializing countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa
(Sumner, 2011). The recent creation of the G-20 group of countries with
industrialized or industrializing economies includes the BRICS as well as
Argentina, Indonesia, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey.
Yet these emerging economic powers continue to have millions of poor
people, with conditions of wealth and poverty2 often existing side by
side – sometimes only neighborhoods away and sometimes defined
by the rural-urban divide. Thus, in terms of poverty, development, and
growth, the world is more heterogeneous now than it was in 1990. And
looking forward to 2050, many emerging economic powers historically
viewed as “developing” will take on new roles while entire segments of
poor people remain a feature of their national makeup. This is evident in
urban areas of emerging economies where high numbers of population
live in deplorable dwellings, i.e., slums, without access to basic services
thus constituting a major challenge to urban governance and design in
developing countries (GNESD, 2008).
It should, however, be emphasized that the poor in emerging economic
powers of Latin America and Asia have better prospects for moving out
of the poverty largely due to the significant and abundant economic,
institutional and skill resources that are available in these countries plus
their growing clout in re-arranging international economic relationships
to protect their national interests.
In contrast, the prospects for the poor in Sub-Saharan Africa are significantly less promising (see Table 2.1) because of the very limited
economic, institutional and skill resources that sub-Saharan African
countries have combined with modest and more importantly “diminishing” ability to influence global economic relationships that are disadvantageous to the sub-Saharan Africa region. As shown in Table 2.1,
2
These countries poverty conditions are in terms of relative poverty: this refers to
lack of the usual or socially acceptable level of resources or income as compared
with others within a society or country. On the other hand absolute poverty refers
to a common international poverty line of: population living on less than $1.25 at
2005 PPP.
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well over half of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is poor – higher than
any other region of the world.
Virtually all future poverty scenarios show substantial reductions in poverty levels in the large emerging economic powers of Latin America and
Asia with virtually the whole of sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South
Asia continuing to be the epicenters of global poverty.
In conclusion, poverty includes concepts of low income and inequality
as well as limited access to services (such as access to cleaner energy
options), opportunities and social exclusion, which are often intimately
linked to inequality.
2.2
Energy and Development
Access to modern forms of energy is an essential pre-requisite for overcoming poverty, promoting economic growth, expanding employment
opportunities, supporting the provision of social services, and, in general, promoting human development. It is also an essential input for
achieving most MDGs, which are a reference of progress against poverty
by 2015 and a benchmark for possible progress beyond that date. As
mentioned earlier, it is, however, important to underline that access to
electricity and cleaner cooking constitutes only part of the desired policy objective of reducing poverty. They are a pre-requisite, but electricity
supply and cleaner cooking fuels, on their own, are not sufficient for
poor households to move out of poverty.
Table 2.2 illustrates how energy can contribute to the MDGs targets.
It also shows clearly how the lack of access to energy can be a major
constraint to achieving the MDGs (Modi et al., 2006; UN-Energy, 2005;
UNDP, 2005, DFID, 2002). One of GEA’s goals is the provision of universal access to affordable electricity and clean cooking by 2030 – a key
target that would contribute to reducing poverty levels.
Human well-being, poverty reduction, social inclusion, and economic
improvement cannot be advanced without access to electricity, fuels,
mechanical power, and the range of services that they provide. Countries
with the highest levels of poverty and underemployment tend to be
those that also lack access to adequate levels of energy services and
the modern conveniences that they provide. This is most pronounced
in Africa and South Asia, where the number of people who depend on
traditional biomass for heating and cooking and who lack access to
electricity are the greatest. As shown in Figure 2.4, based on the Energy
Development Index (EDI) developed by the International Energy Agency
(IEA), all sub-Saharan African countries, with the exception of South
Africa, feature in the bottom half of the EDI ranking.
The EDI was developed to track the progress in country’s or region’s
transition to the use of modern energy and to better understand the role
that energy plays in human development. It is computed by factoring in
the UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) and is composed of four
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indicators; per capita commercial energy use, per capita electricity consumption, share of modern fuels in total residential sector energy use
and share of population with access to electricity (Bazilian et al., 2010;
IEA, 2010a; Nussbaumer et al., 2011).
Abundant cheap and highly polluting energy supplies, while providing
essential inputs for economic growth in the short term, result in unsustainable local, regional, and global environmental and health effects over the
medium and long term, as seen throughout the industrial world and now
increasingly in China and India (UNDP, 2011). From a sustainable human
development perspective, therefore, the key challenge is how to make
available modern and cleaner forms of energy that can support economic
growth and human well-being, helping to reduce poverty while not establishing long-term structural and negative environmental consequences in
energy systems that will eventually undermine development itself.
For industrial countries, this challenge largely results in a focus on
cleaner energy systems, energy efficiency, and the drive to diversify the
energy supply mix to include more renewable sources to address global
climate change concerns and rising or unstable global oil prices. For the
least developed countries, which have significantly less installed energy
infrastructure and where in many cases the vast majority of the population does not have access to either modern and cleaner forms of energy
or electricity, the key near-term question is how to promote the development of energy systems that can provide accessible and affordable
services using new models of production, financing, and distribution as
well as introducing technologies that can avoid the limits to growth that
traditional energy systems will eventually run into.
Energy as a key input to development is undeniable, but significant
debate exists about how to go forward, and the models must differ
from those put in place by industrial countries that have proved to be
unsustainable. To move forward, it is essential to understand the multiple linkages between access to energy services and social, economic,
and human development. These linkages shape emerging energy markets, define and often limit poor peoples’ options to escape the cycle
of poverty, and will determine the opportunities and limitations to key
issues of pertaining to sustainability of development. Putting peoples’
needs at the center of the development model that defines the energy
services required to overcome poverty is a key starting point.
Currently there are almost one and a half billion people worldwide who
do not have access to electricity (IEA, 2010a; see also Chapter 19). Most
of these people live in Africa and South Asia. An estimated 3 billion
people primarily rely on solid fuels (coal and traditional biomass) of
which 2.7 billion people cook and heat their homes with traditional
fuels and low-efficiency stoves (UNDP and WHO, 2009; IEA, 2010a; see
also Chapter 19). For many millions of people, especially women and
school-aged children, the lack of mechanical power for pumping water
and grinding food grains results in hours of manual labor carrying fuel
and water and undertaking repetitive pounding and grinding activities
that pumps and mills could do so much more efficiently.
Energy, Poverty,
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Table 2.2 | Energy and the MDGs.
Goal and target
Some direct and indirect contributions of cleaner/affordable energy options
MDG 1. Extreme poverty and hunger:
To halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the world’s people
whose income is less than one dollar per day.
To halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from
hunger.
• Cleaner burning fuels and electricity can reduce the large share of household income spent on cooking,
lighting and heat. The bulk of staple foods (95%) need cooking before they can be eaten and need water for
cooking.
• Post-harvest losses can be reduced through improved electric-powered preservation (for example, drying and
smoking) and chilling/freezing.
• Energy technologies such as wind pumps and treadle pumps can be used for irrigation in order to increase
food production and improve nutrition. Access to affordable energy options from gaseous and liquid fuels
and electricity can assist enterprise development.
• Electrically driven machinery can increase productivity and provide opportunities for income generation.
• Local energy supplies can often be provided by small-scale, locally owned businesses creating employment.
MDG 2. Universal primary education:
To ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere will be able to complete a full
course of primary schooling.
• Lighting at homes (e.g., through solar lanterns) allows children to study after school hours, with a significant
impact on learning outcomes.
• Lighting in schools can assist in retaining teachers, especially if their houses are electrified.
• Availability of electricity can enable access to educational media and communications in schools and, at
home, can facilitate distance learning.
• Access to energy can provide opportunities for using specialized equipment for teaching.
• Cleaner energy systems and efficient building design can reduce heating/cooling costs and thus school fees.
• Energy can help create more child-friendly environments, thus improving attendance at school and reducing
dropout rates.
MDG 3. Gender equality and women’s empowerment:
To ensure that girls and boys have equal access to primary and secondary
education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than
2015.
• Availability of cleaner energy options can free girls’ and young women’s time from survival activities
(gathering firewood, fetching water, etc.).
• Good-quality lighting can facilitate home study and organization of evening classes for girls and women
who are often housebound due to traditional family responsibilities.
• Affordable and reliable energy options can broaden the scope for women’s enterprises, thereby fostering
employment and income generation among women.
• National decision-making by women representatives, especially on energy use at household level, can be
beneficial, hence improving energy access among the poor.
MDG 4. Child mortality:
To reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the death rate for children
under the age of five.
• GEA estimates for 2005 put the burden of disease caused by household air pollution at about 2.2 million
premature deaths annually, mostly affecting children and women (see Chapters 4 and 17). Gathering and
preparing traditional fuels exposes young children to health risks and can reduce time spent on childcare.
• Cleaner energy options facilitate the provision of nutritious cooked food and space heating, while boiled
water contributes to better health.
• Improved energy options can provide access to better medical facilities for pediatric care, including vaccine
refrigeration and equipment sterilization.
• Energy can be used to purify water or pump clean groundwater locally, which can reduce the burden of
water-borne diseases.
MDG 5. Maternal health:
To reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the rate of maternal
mortality.
• Clean cooking fuels and equipment can reduce pregnant women’s exposure to indoor air pollution and
improve health.
• Improved energy options can provide access to better medical facilities for maternal care, including
laboratory services, medicine refrigeration, equipment sterilization, and operating theatres, as well as safer
caesarean sections.
• Improved energy options can also help retain qualified medical personnel in remote rural areas.
• Cleaner energy options can reduce excessive workloads and heavy manual labor (carrying heavy loads of
fuelwood and water), which could adversely affect a pregnant woman’s general health and well-being.
MDG 6. HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other major diseases:
By 2015, to have halted and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS,
malaria, and other major diseases that afflict humanity.
• Electricity in health centers can help provide medical services at night, retain qualified staff, and allow the
use of more advanced medical equipment (e.g., sterilization).
• Energy for refrigeration can facilitate vaccination and medicine storage for the prevention and treatment of
diseases and infections.
• Energy is needed to develop, manufacture, and distribute drugs, medicines, and vaccinations.
• Electricity can enable access to health education media through information and communications
technologies.
MDG 7. Environmental sustainability:
To stop the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.
To halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who are unable
to reach or afford safe drinking water and sanitation.
• Increased agricultural productivity can be facilitated by the greater use of electric-powered machinery and
irrigation, which in turn reduces the need to expand the amount of land under cultivation.
• Increased renewable energy technology use can contribute greatly to alleviation of deforestation and
reduction of green house emissions that lead to climate change.
• Cleaner burning fuels can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change conversion
technologies.
• Simple cleaner energy solutions such as low-cost sterilization of drinking water can save many lives.
MDG 8. Global partnership for development
• Global and subregional partnerships are valuable for ensuring cross-border trade and exchange of skills in
cleaner energy options as well as joint lower-cost development of transmission interconnections.
Source: adapted from Modi et al., 2006; DFID, 2002.
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Figure 2.4 | Energy Development Index, 2009. Source: IEA, 2010a.
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Figure 2.5 | Proportion of population without access to electricity and using solid fuels. Source: Compiled by IIASA using data from UNDP and WHO, 2009.
Figure 2.5 shows the proportion of people without electricity and using
solid fuels for cooking. The figure indicates that, among developing
countries, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of its population having a combination of low access to electricity and reliance on
solid fuels (see also Table 2.4 and Table 2.6) while the absolute largest
number of the people with limited access live in Asia. According to projections by IEA (2010a), the population without electricity will continue
to rise in sub-Saharan Africa, unlike in other parts of the developing
world, which still have pockets of underserved populations but which
are projected to significantly increase access to electricity (e.g., Latin
America and North Africa).
Table 2.3 | Urban and rural populations without access to electricity, 2009.
As shown in Table 2.3, within countries, there is a significant disparity
in terms of access to electricity between rural and urban populations
(IEA, 2010a).
electricity access has a direct relationship in the increase of electricity
consumption per capita.
As shown in Table 2.4, in many developing countries, especially those in
sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of Asia, low electrification rates are
compounded by very low levels of electricity consumption implying very
limited use of this important and flexible energy service.
As mentioned earlier, while there are different approaches to defining poverty, there is a positive worldwide correlation between energy
services and GDP per capita (approximately average personal income)
as well as in relation to human development. As shown in Figure
2.6, there is a correlation between the level of well-being (shown by
the HDI) and access to modern forms of energy (indicated by per capita electricity consumption). As the electricity consumption per capita
increases, the HDI indicator increases, while an increase in income and
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Rural (million)
Urban (million)
465
120
China
8
–
India
381
23
Other developing countries in Asia
328
59
Latin America
27
4
1209
206
Total
Source: IEA, 2010a.
As mentioned earlier, provision of and access to modern, cleaner and
affordable energy options per se does not, in itself, alleviate poverty.
However, there is growing consensus that enhancing access to modern,
cleaner and affordable energy options can play a key contributing role
to reducing poverty, especially for the poorest people (the lowest fifth
in a population) and the poorest countries. Figure 2.7 illustrates the link
between high poverty levels and low access to electricity. Energy services therefore, are a means to facilitate development given that energy
is an essential input for productive, household and social sectors.
It is, however, important to note that at higher levels of incomes, this
correlation begins to break down at a national level – an important indicator of wasteful energy use which highlights the importance of energy
efficiency in richer industrialized nations.
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Table 2.4 | Snapshot of electricity access and consumption in developing countries,
2008.
Electricity
consumption per
person (kWh)
Africa
South Africa
75.0
Nigeria
50.6
4532
121
Panama
China
Botswana
Bolivia
South Africa
Morocco
India
Pakistan
Kenya
0.4
Nigeria
Tanzania
0.3
Ethiopia
48.7
271
47.3
203
0.2
Senegal
42.0
196
0.1
Sudan
35.9
114
0
Eritrea
32.0
51
Angola
26.2
202
Benin
24.8
91
Togo
20.0
111
Ethiopia
17.0
46
Kenya
16.1
147
Tanzania
13.9
86
Mozambique
11.7
453
Congo, Democratic Republic of
11.1
104
100.0
7949
China
99.4
2631
Malaysia
99.4
3614
Thailand
99.3
2045
Vietnam
97.6
918
India
75.0
597
Indonesia
64.5
590
Pakistan
62.4
449
Cambodia
24.0
131
Myanmar
13.0
104
Venezuela
99.0
3152
Chile
98.5
3283
Brazil
98.3
2206
Paraguay
96.7
1056
Dominican Republic
95.9
1358
Colombia
93.6
1047
Ecuador
92.2
1115
El Salvador
86.4
845
Peru
85.7
1136
Guatemala
80.5
548
Bolivia
77.5
558
Honduras
70.3
678
Latin America
Russia
Brazil
0.5
Cote d’Ivoire
Singapore
Finland
Argenna
Ukraine
0.7 Colombia
0.6
Belgium
Singapore
Hungary
0.8
Cameroon
Asia
USA
0.9
Human Development Indix (2007)
Country
Population with
electricity
access (%)
1
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
Energy Use in 2007 (kg of oil equivalent per capita)
Figure 2.6 | Correlation between HDI and electricity consumption per capita. Source:
adapted from UNDP, 2009; World Bank, 2007.
according to a study by Barnes et al. (2010), increased access to cleaner and
affordable energy options contributes to monetary gains among the poor
and leads to better quality of life, such as an improved diet and amount of
food intake, the ability to afford better health and education facilities, etc.
There tends to be a two-way causal relationship between poverty and
the lack of access to adequate and affordable energy forms. The relationship can be characterized as a vicious cycle because poor people
who lack access to cleaner and affordable energy are often trapped
in a repeating cycle of deprivation, limited incomes and the means to
improve their living conditions while at the same time using significant
amounts of their very scarce income on expensive and unhealthy forms
of energy that provide poor or unsafe services such as dry cell batteries,
rudimentary and inefficient kerosene lamps, charcoal and candles.
The lack of modern and affordable forms of energy affects agricultural
and economic productivity, time budgets, opportunities for income generation, and more generally the ability to improve living conditions. Low
agricultural and economic productivity as well as diminished livelihood
opportunities in turn result in malnourishment, low earnings, and no
or little surplus cash. This contributes to the poor remaining poor, and
consequently they cannot afford to pay for cleaner or improved forms
of energy (often neither the fuels nor the equipment). In this sense the
problem of poverty remains closely intertwined with a lack of cleaner
and affordable energy services.
Source: IEA, 2009; 2011; World Bank, 2011a.
On the other hand, when the poor gain access to stable electricity supplies or cleaner fuels that can support job creation, trade, and valueadding activities within the family, they are able to accumulate the small
levels of “surplus” or savings that facilitate access to education and
health services, improved nutrition, or improved housing conditions that
in turn enable them to gradually escape their poverty (UNDP, 2006).
The correlation between access to cleaner energy and poverty reduction
is corroborated by a number of recent World Bank studies. For example,
A number of developing countries have set targets for enhancing access
to electricity, cleaner fuels, improved stoves, and mechanical power
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(see Table 2.5). In overall terms, however, the total number of developing countries with such targets is relatively small.
As shown in Figure 2.8, nearly all 140 countries assessed in a UNDPWHO study have some data on electricity access/supply, but none had
data on mechanical power.
2.3
Household Energy
For the poorest people in the world, especially those who live in the
poorest countries, the most inelastic segment of demand for energy is
that for cooking and heating to ensure basic survival. This “household
140
Table 2.5 | Developing countries with access targets for modern energy availability.
Energy Source/
Application
120
Latin America and the Caribbean
100
Number of
Developing
Countries with
Target
Number of Sub-Saharan
African Countries with
Target
South Asia
80
East Asia and Pacific
60
Electricity
68
35
40
Modern fuels
17
13
20
Improved cookstoves
11
7
0
5
5
Arab States
Sub-Saharan Africa
Electricity Access
Mechanical Power
Modern fuels
Mechanical Power
Figure 2.8 | Number of countries with data on energy sources and applications.
Source: adapted from UNDP and WHO, 2009.
Source: adapted from UNDP and WHO, 2009.
OECD Jordan
China Algeria Egypt Tunisia Costa RicaChile
Morocco
Colombia Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Jamaica
Panama
El Salvador
Guatemala
100
% of population with electricity access
Improved
cookstoves
80
South Africa
Bolivia
Peru
Honduras
Mongolia
India
60
Pakistan
Ghana
Cote d'Ivoire
Nigeria
Nepal
Bangladesh
40
Botswana
Senegal
Yemen
Namibia
Congo
Cameroon
Angola
Benin
Cambodia
20
Madagascar
Ethiopia
Mozambique
Burkina Faso
Tanzania
100
90
80
70
Lesotho
60
Kenya
50
40
30
20
10
0
% of population living in poverty
Figure 2.7 | Access to electricity versus poverty levels. Source: adapted from World Bank, 2011a; IEA, 2008.
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Energy, Poverty, and Development
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energy” is often poorly understood by development planners at large,
and within the energy sector it is often not considered in policies that
historically have been focused on electricity supply rather than other
household fuels. Even poor families do not have a choice of whether to
use heat to cook their food because 95% of all basic staples must be
converted to food through heat for cooking (ESMAP, 2004).
All families worldwide, rich or poor, depend on heat to cook their food,
boil water, and, where the climate requires it, provide space heating.
While traditional fuels such as wood, agricultural residues, or dung can
be gathered locally, considerable time is spent collecting them (ESMAP,
undated) (see Figure 2.19). As traditional fuels become scarcer due to
overharvesting, agricultural decline, or increased competition among
growing populations, more and more unpaid time is dedicated to fuel
collection, leaving less time for income-earning activities.
In many poor countries, biomass, mainly for cooking, accounts for over
90% of household energy use. According to IEA (2010a) estimates, about
2.7 billion people rely on traditional biomass, such as fuelwood, charcoal, agricultural waste, and animal dung, to meet their energy needs for
cooking. A significant proportion of these people are the majority of the
poor, who live on less than US2005$2 a day (PPP).
parts of South Asia will continue relying on traditional biomass for cooking
for the next couple of decades. And as shown in Figure 2.9, in sub-Saharan
Africa the number of people relying on traditional biomass for cooking is
projected to increase at a much steeper pace than in other regions over the
next two decades (Brew-Hammond, 2007) if current trends continue.
Unlike other regions and developing countries where traditional biomass energy use is expected to stagnate or decline, Africa’s traditional
biomass use is likely to increase sharply by 2030 unless there is a significant increase in access to cleaner and affordable energy carriers for
cooking (IEA, 2006a). In the meantime, there is evidence that in areas
where local prices of energy carriers have increased because of recent
high international energy prices, the shift to cleaner and more efficient
energy options for cooking has actually slowed and even reversed
(IEA, 2006a; UNDP, 2007a; World Bank, 2010a).
Enhancing the poor’s access to modern and cleaner forms of household
energy is important due to its potential for increasing income levels for
As shown in the Table 2.6, sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia currently
rely heavily on traditional biomass (IEA, 2010a). In all subregions of the
developing world, people in rural areas account for the highest proportion of the population relying on traditional biomass, a key indication
that rural areas in most developing countries have limited access to
cleaner energy options, especially for cooking.
According to available data, if access to cleaner cooking fuels remains constrained, a large proportion of the population in sub-Saharan Africa and
Figure 2.9 | Projections for traditional biomass use in developing regions (million
people). Source: based on IEA, 2006a.
Table 2.6 | Rural and urban populations relying on traditional biomass as principal household energy option, by region and selected country.
Total number of people relying on traditional biomass
(million)
Proportions of population relying on
biomass within subregion (%)
Subregion
Africa
Rural
Urban
Total
Rural
Urban
Population
relying on
biomass as share
of subregion’s
population (%)
481
176
657
73.2
26.8
67
Sub-Saharan
Africa
477
176
653
73.1
26.9
80
Developing Asia
1694
243
1 937
87.5
12.5
55
China
377
47
423
89.1
11.1
32
India
765
90
855
89.5
10.5
75
Other Asia
553
106
659
83.9
16.1
63
Latin America
Developing countries*
60
24
85
70.6
28.2
18
2235
444
2679
83.4
16.6
54
*– Includes Middle East
Note: Traditional use of biomass refers to the basic technology used and not the resource itself. The people relying on traditional use of biomass refer to those households where
biomass is the primary fuel for cooking. In addition to the number of people relying on biomass for cooking, some 0.4 billion people, mostly in China, rely on coal cooking.
Source: adapted from IEA, 2010a.
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Table 2.7 | Share of household income expenditure on energy, selected countries (%).
Country
Date of data Publication
Bottom quintile
Top quintile
Armenia
2006
13.9 (electricity)
6.5 (electricity)
Djibouti
2005
18.2 (18.5)a
16.3 (13.4)a
Bolivia
2006
2.6 (LPG)
1.1 (LPG)
Georgia
2006
6.3 (electricity)
2.0 (electricity)
Ghana
Hungary
Jordan
Kazakhstan
2006
0.1 (petrol)
2.1 (petrol)
2006
5.9 (kerosene)
1.6 (kerosene)
2006
0.0 (LPG)
0.2 (LPG)
2006
6.5 (electricity)
3.7 (electricity)
2006
1.0 (kerosene)
0.3 (kerosene)
2006
1.8 (LPG)
0.7 (LPG)
2006
3.1 (electricity)
1.8 (electricity)
2006
0.9 (electricity)
0.6 (electricity)
2006
6.3 (electricity)
3.0 (electricity)
Moldova
a
2006
0.4 (LPG)
0.4 (LPG)
Mongolia
2003
10.8 for the poor on heating (18% in winter
months)
5.7% for the non-poor on
heating (10.1% in winter
months)
South Africa
2004
75.0 (housing, energy, clothing, and food)
33.3 (housing, energy, clothing, and food)
Poland
2006
5.8 (electricity)
2.9 (electricity)
Uganda
2002
15.0
9.5
Ethiopia
2002
10.0
7.0
India
2002
8.5
5.0
United Kingdom
2002
6.8
2.0
Numbers are calculated for Djibouti Ville and shown in parenthesis for other towns.
Source: World Bank, 2008a.
this group. Just as important, however, is the need to reduce the poor’s
expenditure on energy services. As shown in Table 2.7, the poor spend a
higher share of their income on energy than the non-poor, which underscores the need to ensure affordable energy options for people with
lower incomes.
Traditional fuels are typically used in low-efficiency stove technology –
for the poorest people, nothing more than stones or very basic stoves.
Relatively poor-quality heat is derived from the use of traditional fuels.
This is not the nature of the fuels themselves but a byproduct of stove
technology.
Global analysis conducted by World Health Organization (WHO) evaluated different intervention scenarios if the number of people cooking
with solid fuels were halved by providing them with access to LPG by
2015. The analysis, conducted in 11 WHO subregions, showed a payback
of US2005$91 billion a year on an investment of US2005$13 billion a year
(See Table 2.8).
In poor countries, due to scarcity, rural people are unable to collect all the
fuels they need (UNDP, 2005; UN-Energy, 2005). Increasingly, traditional
fuels including wood, charcoal, and other biomass are bought in commercial markets. The share of poor families’ incomes spent on fuels is a
significant portion of their total expenditures and can sometimes overtake other essential items such as schooling and health costs when local
fuel prices rise (Modi et al., 2006; UNDP, 2005). This is also true for the
urban poor, who rely on traditional fuels for cooking and heating and
who must buy such fuels.
It is essential to put to rest two myths regarding the use of traditional
fuels. The first myth is that all traditional fuels are free or available at
no monetary cost (even those that are harvested locally for family consumption are not free as they involve a high opportunity cost based on
the time spent on their collection). The second is that traditional fuels
are mainly used in households in rural areas in terms of absolute numbers of consumers. In sub-Saharan Africa, much of the rural deforestation and overharvesting of fuelwood can, in part, be traced to trees
cut down for feedstock for the charcoal industry. This is not to supply
rural consumers with energy but to provide a steady supply of cheap
fuels for cooking and household energy use for urban dwellers, as indicated by the thriving charcoal markets throughout the African continent
(AFREPREN/FWD, 2006a).
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Table 2.8 | Remarkable returns from investing in household energy. Benefits of household energy and health interventions (US2005$ million), by type of benefit, 2005.
If 50% of the population cooking with
solid fuels in 2005 switch to cooking
with liquefied petroleum gas by 2015
Health care savings
If 50% of the population cooking
with solid fuels in 2005 switch
to cooking with modern forms of
biofuels by 2015
If 50% of the population cooking
with solid fuels in 2005 switch
to cooking on an improved stove
by 2015
384
384
65
1460
1460
510
Time savings due to less time spent on fuel
collection and cooking: productivity gains
43,980
43,980
88,100
Value of deaths averted among children
and adults
38,730
38,730
13,560
6070
5610
2320
Time savings due to childhood and adult
illness prevented: school attendance days
gained for children and productivity gains
for children and adults
Environmental benefits
Total benefits
90,624
90,164
104,555
Note: Costs and benefits of different intervention scenarios were estimated using 2005 as the base year and a 10-year time horizon, taking into account demographic changes over
this period. The analysis was conducted for 11 WHO subregions to reflect variations in (i) the availability, use and cost of different fuels and stoves; (ii) disease prevalence; (iii) health
care seeking as well as quality and cost of health care; (iv) the amount of time spent on fuel collection and cooking; (v) the value of productive time based on Gross National Income
per capita; and (vi) variations in environmental and climatic conditions. A 3% discount rate was applied to all costs and benefits.
Source: WHO, 2006.
A reduction in energy expenditure or time spent collecting fuel can liberate much-needed financial resources for other important expenses,
such as increasing the quantity and quality of food or investing in new
income-generating activities or expanding existing income-generating
activities – thereby enhancing income as well as creating employment.
For example, by switching from traditional to improved cookstoves, the
poor can significantly reduce their expenditure on fuel and also save
time spent in fuel collection (Galitsky et al., 2006). Improved charcoal
cookstoves modelled on the Kenya Ceramic Jiko (KCJ) can cut charcoal
consumption by up to half. The money thereby saved can be reinvested
in more or better-quality food, partially contributing to minimizing
extreme hunger, or in an income-generating activity. The KCJ reduces
emissions and particulate matter, the latter of which contributes to
acute respiratory infection among women and infants under the age of
five. The relevance of the KCJ experience in Kenya is demonstrated by its
introduction into Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda,
Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, to mention just a few countries.
Other successful improved biomass cookstoves as well as ethanol cookstoves are also being disseminated in Asia and Latin America.
Liquid and gaseous fuels can provide better cooking and heating
options due to the combustion efficiency and quality of heat they provide. Unfortunately, fuels such as kerosene and LPG are often not available in local markets, especially in rural areas. In addition, due to their
higher costs, they cannot compete with traditional biomass-based fuels.
Poor people also face challenges associated with the upfront cost of
stoves. For example, families who would be able to afford the recurring
fuel costs of LPG versus charcoal may not be able to afford the requisite LPG stove, thereby eliminating the possibility of switching fuels
(Quansah et al., 2003).
168
In most developing countries, there has been a significant increase in
the use of LPG over the past decade (Karekezi et al., 2008b), but this
has occurred among people with higher disposable incomes except in
countries where active interventions to reach the poor are in place. In
Senegal, for example, about 90% of Dakar’s inhabitants rely on LPG for
cooking (ANSD, 2006; Schlag and Zuzarte, 2008; Fall et al., 2008). To
reach the poor, a number of LPG distributors have promoted smaller LPG
cylinders, thus lowering upfront costs. India and Brazil have registered
impressive progress in promoting LPG use through the use of subsidies to promote market wide changes in consumption patterns (Shankar,
2007; Coelho, 2009). However, world oil prices are highly variable, and
in a time of increasing resource scarcity, a significant price increase is
likely to erode some of the gains made in LPG use among the poor.
Socioeconomic determinants can be expected to have a significant influence on fuel or other intervention choices (such as improved stoves or
improved household ventilation). Household fuel demands have been
shown to account for more than half of the total energy demand in
most countries with per capita incomes under US2005$1000 (PPP), while
accounting for less than 2% in industrial countries (UNDP, 2007b). While it
is known that households switch to cleaner, more-efficient energy systems
for their domestic energy needs as per capita incomes increase (i.e., they
move up the “energy ladder”), these changes have largely been due to
increases in affordability, demand for greater convenience, and energy efficiency (IEA, 2010a). Figure 2.10 is a partial depiction of a typical “energy
ladder” with regard to some of the fuels associated with cooking.
From a policy and public financing point of view, there is a need to
alleviate the negative income effect of time use and family expenditure related to the use of traditional fuels and to overcome the barriers
Increasing efficiency and cleanliness
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Ethanol, methanol
LPG, gas
Kerosene
Charcoal
Wood
Crop, waste, dung
Increasing prosperity
Figure 2.10 | Typical “energy ladder” for cooking fuels3. Source: UNDP, 2007b.
related to household energy. In developing countries, where poor people
are highly dependent on traditional fuels that are poorly combusted in
inefficient devices, much greater emphasis must be given to increasing the availability and affordability of liquid and gaseous fuels and
associated stove technologies. Special attention should also be paid to
mechanical power solutions and labor-saving appliances that can provide homestead-based pumping, agro-processing, milling, and grinding,
among other services. These are also critically important for gender and
health reasons, as discussed later in this chapter.
The absence of mechanical options in many rural areas of the developing world, to provide access to mechanical power for water pumping,
milling, or other household activities is also related to the absence of
affordable and cleaner fuels or electricity to drive engines, mills, and
pumps to supplement human labor (see Chapters 19, 23, and 25). The
absence of mechanical power affects not only the poorest families, particularly girls and women, but often entire geographic areas due to the
distances from electricity supply and cleaner fuel delivery systems (UN
Energy, 2005; UNDP, 2005). Overcoming the mechanical power deficit
that affects the household energy balance is also related to the appliances (pumps, mills, and engines) that convert energy carriers into the
service of mechanical power. In this sense, it has many similarities with
the cooking and heating challenges in the household energy mix.
2.4
Energy and Production
Virtually all value-adding activities, both paid and unpaid, require energy
as an input in the production process (Modi et al., 2006; UN-Energy,
2005). In its simplest form it can be human or animal energy transporting goods, doing manual work, or providing manual power through
simple machines such as mills. As greater degrees of technology are
applied in the production process, different forms of energy are used.
This could be heat energy in manufacturing processes requiring ovens
or kilns and therefore fuels, in which case the quality of the heat, access,
and affordability of the fuels and efficiency of the ovens used all affect
the final product (from bread to bricks). Other productive processes
3
Electricity represents the highest rung on the ‘energy ladder’ and produces different
energy services than fuels.
require motors, machines, or other tools that often use liquid fuels (such
as petrol for motors) or electricity (for sewing machines, welders, etc.)
to power them. Table 2.9 illustrates various mechanical power technologies and applications that could help minimize the amount of human
energy spent on different productive activities.
In addition to production activities in which energy and machines are
applied to raw materials and other inputs to produce final products, service industries also require energy as inputs. This includes telephones,
computers, other information technology, or air conditioners, specialized equipment, or security systems – all of which consume electricity.
In short, from the simplest manufacturing industries to the most complex technology-intensive ones, energy – whether electricity or fuels – is
an essential input. It therefore would seem obvious that there is a link
between energy and the development objectives of achieving full and
productive employment and decent work for all. Yet while many countries have active programs to promote employment through workers’
training or other skills-building activities, sources of energy for machines
or financing schemes to get access to the energy-using equipment itself
is often not part of the job creation agenda.
Many working conditions, especially for the poorest people, are hazardous or life-threatening. In countries where a work-related injury can
greatly reduce the economic conditions of entire families due their vulnerability to a range of factors beyond their control (food and fuel price
rises, access to affordable housing, increases in education or health service fees), access to decent work is a key determinant of the ability of
people, communities, and entire countries to overcome conditions of
poverty. Cleaner energy options can enhance working conditions and
open opportunities to generate livelihoods, increase the number of jobs,
and provide decent work for entire populations are directly related to
access to energy services for value-adding processes, whether this be in
manufacturing, the services sector, government, or social services (Modi
et al., 2006; UN-Energy, 2005).
Employment in formal and non-formal sector activities is positively correlated to access to cleaner energy options such as electricity, as is
workers’ productivity in value-adding processes. In addition, increased
access to cleaner energy contributes to the transformation of economies from being agriculture-based – where significant animate
energy is consumed – to industry-based, where cleaner energy plays a
key role in the production of commodities. Figure 2.11 illustrates that
economies with relatively high cleaner energy use (due to high access
levels) have lower contributions of agriculture to the GDP implying
that reliance on agriculture is inversely proportional to cleaner energy
use as more non-agricultural industries are established contributing to
economic development. Conversely, economies with very low cleaner
energy use show relatively high levels of contribution of agriculture to
GDP, as their industrial sector is not developed, in part, due to an inadequate supply of cleaner energy options (Modi et al., 2006; UN-Energy,
2005; UNDP, 2005).
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Table 2.9 | Mechanical power technologies and applications.
Activity
Water supply
Service
Drinking
Traditional technology
Container (bucket) for lifting/carrying water
Irrigation
Livestock watering
Agriculture
Agro-processing
Natural resource extraction
Small-scale manufacturing
Lifting and crossing
Mechanical power alternative
Diesel pump
Treadle pump
Rope pump
Ram pump
Persian wheel
Hand pump
River turbine
Wind pump
Tillage/plowing
Animal-drawn tiller/hand hoe
Power tiller/ two-wheel tractor
Harvesting
Scythe
Animal-drawn mower
Manual practices
Harvester
Seeding
Hand planting
Bed planter
Row planter
Seed drill
Milling/Pressing
Hand ground/Flail
Powered mill
Oil expellers
Cutting/Shredding
Knife
Sawmills
Powered shredder
Winnowing/Decorticating
Winnowing basket
Powered shaker
Grinder
Spinning
Manual spin
Powered spinner
Drying
Handheld fan
Sun drying
Powered fan
Solar dryer
Small-scale mining
Shovel
Chisel
Hammer
Pickax
Manual percussion drill
Petrol-powered drill
Expandable tube with hydraulic pump
Hand washing
Hand /fuel/water-powered water jet
Hand screen
Hand/fuel/water-powered shaker
Lumbering
Hand saw
Powered saw (saw mill, chain saw)
Metal working
Hammer
Sheet metal/pipe bender
Hole puncher
Woodworking/Carpentry
Hand saw
Sawmill
Treadle lathe
Briquetting/brick pressing
None
Hand/foot-powered pressers
Textile making
Hand-woven
Treadle loom
Papermaking
Mould and deckle
Paper press
Pulp mill
Pottery
Hand powered potter’s wheel
Treadle pottery’s wheel
Lifting
Manual labor (climbing, lifting)
Chain/rope hoist
Crossing
Manual labor (swimming, walking)
Gravity ropeway
Tuin (aerial tramway in Himalaya)
Source: adapted from Bates et al., 2009.
In the countries with the least access to electricity countrywide, or in
specific geographic areas within national borders that have limited electricity access or an unreliable supply, limits to productive employment
and income generation are also likely to be present. The cost, reliability,
and ease of access to energy services are also factors in creating conditions for jobs creation, production, and decent work.
170
For example, lack of reliable electricity supply in sub-Saharan Africa has
significant impacts on job security, especially among casual laborers
in industry. On annual basis, cumulative time of electrical supply interruptions is equivalent to about three months of production time lost
(IEA, 2010a), a significant duration that implies little or no production,
thereby risking loss of jobs. In addition, it is estimated that businesses
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lose production worth 6.1% of their turnover due to electrical outages
(IEA, 2010a). Table 2.10 summarizes the reliability of electricity supply in
sub-Saharan Africa and developing countries in general.
Access to modern and affordable forms of energy options is essential
for creating employment, thereby contributing to a reduction in poverty
levels. According to a survey of a rural Indian village by Hiremath and
At the macroeconomic level, lack of a reliable supply of electricity is estimated to have a significant impact on economic growth and productivity. Figure 2.12 shows the proportion of GDP lost to unreliable electricity
supply in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Malawi
South Africa
Uganda
Tanzania
Kenya
Senegal
Table 2.10 | Summary of electricity supply reliability in sub-Saharan Africa and
developing countries.
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Indicator
Cameroon
Madagascar
Cape Verde
Developing
Countries
Niger
Burkina Faso
Cumulative electrical interruptions (days/year)
90.9
28.7
6.1
4.4
Firms owning/sharing generators (% of total)
47.5
31.8
Number of days for new electrical connection
79.9
27.5
Lost Production (% of turnover)
Benin
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
% of GDP
Figure 2.12 | Proportion of GDP lost due to unreliable power supply in 2007. Source:
Vivien and Briceno-Garmendia, 2010.
Source: World Bank & IBRD, 2008.
40
36
Contribution of Agriculture to GDP (%)
32
Ghana
28
Mozambique
Cote d’Ivoire
24
20
Mongolia
Paraguay
Albania
Armenia
Vietnam
Syria
India
Zambia
Kenya
16
Serbia
12
China
Thailand
Bosnia and Herzegovina
8
Iran
Romania
Malaysia
Belarus
Ukraine
Kazakhstan
4
Korea Republic
0
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
Netherlands
Belgium
Norway
5000
6000
USA
7000
8000
9000
Energy Use (kg of oil equivalent per capita)
Figure 2.11 | Correlation between cleaner and modern forms of energy use and contribution of agriculture to GDP, 2007. Source: adapted from World Bank, 2011a.
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Misra (2009), modern forms of bioenergy systems can create opportunities for 25–45 jobs in one village alone. The jobs would arise from
developing forests for feedstock, preparing wood feedstock, collecting
cattle dung or leaves, operating and maintaining biogas/gasifier systems, etc., as well as the operation, repair, and maintenance of associated equipment such as generators, pumps, flour mills, diesel engines,
and domestic appliances.
World Bank studies in Asia have attempted to quantify the benefits of
rural electrification. For example, a survey in Bangladesh revealed that
rural electrification could lead to an increase of income in the range of
9–30% (Khandker et al., 2009). The value of benefits of rural electrification accrued by households in the Philippines is shown in Table 2.11
(World Bank, 2008b), which are substantial in comparison to Philippine’s
per capita GDP of US$146 in 2009.
Thus although the presence of electricity or fuels does not, on its own,
guarantee full employment or enough value-adding jobs to ensure
decent work and poverty elimination, access to electricity and fuels
for formal and informal sector work expands the range of employment
options in both urban and rural areas, with the most dramatic effects
being seen in the countryside. This is not because of the electricity or
the fuel itself but because of the expansion in the range of services
for manufacturing, communication, mechanical power, and illumination
that they provide.
Prioritizing access to electricity and energy-using technology for commercial activities (as opposed to only low-load household activities) could
increase employment opportunities that can contribute to income generation and the fight against poverty, especially for the working poor.
do basic grains need to be cooked to be consumed, which requires
heat energy, but their very production, harvest, and processing require
energy inputs for cultivation, irrigation, transport, and, for some foodstuffs, preservation.
By facilitating irrigation, cleaner and affordable energy options can help
ensure food security among the poor in spite of increasingly frequent
drought conditions in many countries. As shown in Table 2.12, irrigation is
still an embryonic practice in sub-Saharan African countries but it is widely
practiced in Asia (FAO, 2011). Most of the Asian countries represented in
Table 2.12 source more than half of their grain production from irrigated
land. In comparison, in most of sub-Saharan African countries, grain production from irrigated land accounts for around 20% or less (FAO, 2011).
Energy can play a vital role in enhancing food security among the poor
through technologies that can be used for irrigation and water pumping.
Energy for mechanical power (water pumping or distribution) can come
from grid-connected electricity, local motors using fuels, or renewableenergy-derived water-lifting devices.
Some irrigation and water pumping technologies have significant potential for not only ensuring food supply throughout the year but also
generating additional income for households (Karekezi et al., 2005).
Table 2.13 provides estimates of the initial investment required to buy
and install various irrigation or water pumping technologies. However,
where farmers are supplied with excessively subsidized or extremely lowcost electricity there are possibilities of misusing it, for example by use
Table 2.12 | Proportion of grain production from irrigated land (%).
Country
%
ASIA
2.5
Energy and Agriculture
Japan
Most of the caloric intake of the poorest people worldwide comes from
basic grains such as rice, corn, millets, and wheat. In all cases not only
Table 2.11 | Quantifying electrification benefits for typical households in rural
Philippines.
Benefits
Value of benefits
(US$/month)
Beneficiary
94.5
Tajikistan
84.5
Malaysia
70.0
China
67.0
Uzbekistan
61.5
India
56.0
Bangladesh
47.0
AFRICA
67.0
Namibia
43.9
Mali
22.4
Gambia
19.6
Nigeria
14.2
Household
Burkina Faso
3.2
Botswana
2.6
Malawi
2.0
Mozambique
2.0
36.6
Less expensive and expanded use of
radio and television
19.6
Household
Improved returns on education and
wage income
37.1
Wage earner
Time savings for household chores
24.5
Household
Improved productivity of existing
home business
34.0
Business
Productivity of new home business
75.0
Business
172
Vietnam
Madagascar
Less expensive and expanded use
of lighting
Source: adapted from World Bank, 2008b.
98.0
Source: FAO, 2011.
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Table 2.13 | Initial investment and specific cost of irrigation water, various
technologies.
Component
Cost + installation
(US$)
Lifetime (years)
Rate of discharge
(m³/hour)
Specific cost of water
(US$/m³/year)
Treadle
pumps4
Hydrams
(hydraulic
ram
pumps)
Wind
pump
Diesel
pump
171
295
2981
2,000
6
40
20
10
4.3
4.5
7.5
10.0
0.03
0.05
0.29
0.18
Note: The costs in the table assume that the requisite renewable energy resources are
available at the site where the pump is located and also that the water source is within
a reasonable distance for the pump to operate at its optimum.
In Kenya, treadle pumps were introduced in 1991 and have generated a
wide range of benefits for users, manufacturers, promoters, and retailers.
The low-income owners in Kenya purchase them mainly through their
savings as well as from the sale of crops and livestock and use of retirement benefits. While men own 84% of the treadle pumps, women manage nearly three-quarters of them, which are mainly used for irrigating
crops and to some extent for supplying water for household use and
animals (Karekezi et al., 2005).
According to available data, the areas under irrigation increased among
users by 700% from an average of 0.03–0.24 ha in 1999 to 0.59 ha in
2004 (Karekezi et al., 2005). For farmers not involved in irrigation previously, the number of crop cycles increased from 1.2 to an average of 2.3.
One advantage associated with an increased number of crop cycles is
the timing of cropping, in order to harvest when the crop fetches higher
prices from the market.
Source: Karekezi et al., 2005; Karekezi et al., 2008a.
of inefficient pumps, which leads to increased electricity consumption as
well as wasteful use of water which can lower water table levels.
As Table 2.13 indicates, not all technologies may be affordable to poor
households due to high upfront cost. However, the treadle pump appears
to have the least upfront cost and is likely to be the most attractive option
for the poor. This technology – widely used in Asia and parts of sub-Saharan
Africa – is reportedly very effective in enhancing food production.
Many sub-Saharan African farmers are still irrigating very small plots
of land using bucket-lifting technologies, which are slow, cumbersome,
and labor-intensive, especially for women. Small-scale irrigation is usually developed privately by farmers in response to family and local market requirements, often with limited government interventions.
Small-scale irrigation using treadle pumps is one of the success stories in
many countries in Africa at a time when large-scale water developments
have failed to meet expectations. Case studies from Kenya, Niger, Zambia,
and Zimbabwe show that by using animate energy-driven treadle pumps
instead of bucket irrigation, farmers can increase irrigated land, reduce
work time, improve crop quality, grow new crops, and increase the number of cropping cycles (AFREPREN/FWD, 2006b). Treadle pumps make it
easier for farmers, especially women, to retrieve water for their fields or
vegetable gardens, and they are cheap and easy to handle. Treadle pump
technology has enabled poor rural farmers, especially women, to increase
their incomes by selling surplus produce in the local market.
In some cases, cropping intensity has been extended to three crops per
year. In Zimbabwe, treadle pumps are mostly used for irrigation of small
vegetable gardens. And because these pumps usually reach water only
within five meters, they do not deplete valuable groundwater resources.
It is noted that the local water table would drop only if a large number
of farmers were operating in the same area.
4
A treadle pump is a human-muscle powered irrigation device.
If pumps are produced locally, they can also create jobs and income –
the pumps cost less than US2005$200 and can be built with ordinary
workshop equipment (AFREPREN/FWD, 2006b). Some 186,804 pumps
are reported to have been sold across West, East, and Southern Africa
since 1991 (Kickstart, 2011).
Wind pumping technologies can supply water for irrigation as well as
for household use and livestock (Harries, 2002). The wind speeds in
most regions (even in sub-Saharan Africa, which is located in a generally low wind-speed zone that straddles the equator) are sufficient for
windpumps. In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa and Namibia possess
large numbers of wind pumps. An estimated 400,000 wind pumps are
in operation in South Africa (Karekezi et al., 2009) and are believed to
have played a major role in the past in supporting irrigated agriculture
and transforming South Africa into a food-surplus country.
Another key area in which better energy options can help combat hunger is post-harvest losses. These are related to inadequate facilities for
food harvest, storage, and transport; a lack of conversion technologies
to preserve or otherwise extend the life of food products; and the lack
of protection from pests, disease, and other threats to the quality and
quantity to harvested food products.
FAO estimates that post harvest losses among food grains in developing
countries account for 15–50 % (FAO, 2009). However, more alarming
are the post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables (such as tomatoes,
bananas, and citrus fruit) as well as of sweet potatoes and plantains,
which can be as high as 50% (Farm Radio International, 2006a). It is
also estimated that between 20% and 50% of the fish caught in Africa
are lost after capture (Farm Radio International 2006b).
The impact of high post-harvest losses on the poor is twofold: first, it
implies that less nutritious food is available, which exposes the poor
to undernourishment. Second, post-harvest losses equate lost potential
income. This means that the poor end up with less income from the sale
of food crops. In addition, lower income erodes any potential cushioning
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Table 2.14 | Various options for low-cost options for minimizing post-harvest losses
and the requisite energy inputs.
Fruit/vegetable
Most fruits & vegetables
Post-harvest
transformation
Dried fruits and vegetables
Type of energy inputs
required
Solar thermal using solar
drier
African locust bean
Traditional mustard
Heat for cooking
Peanuts
Peanut butter
Heat for cooking and
animate energy for
grinding
Tomato
Tomato paste
Heat for cooking
Most fruits
Jams and sauces
Heat for cooking and
sterilizing storage
containers
relied on energy inputs for fertilizer production, irrigation, harvesting,
and the transport of their products.
Energy technologies required to increase food production and reduce postharvest losses, can be produced locally, are relatively affordable, and in
many cases may not require electricity to operate. For example, pico and
micro hydro for shaft power can be used to process agricultural produce and
increase its value for a prolonged period, thereby improving food security.
Low-cost efficient hand tools and animal-drawn implements can increase
the agricultural productivity of rural areas in the developing world.
In conclusion, access to more efficient, cleaner and affordable energy
options is an effective tool for combating extreme hunger by increasing
food productivity and reducing post-harvest losses.
Source: adapted from Farm Radio International, 2008.
against food price hikes as well as reduces poor people’s ability to afford
better-quality food.
Several modern, cleaner and affordable forms of energy options could
reduce post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables. One important technology directly linked to energy services is transportation, especially
on-time transportation to get harvested foods to markets and processing
centers. In rural areas with difficult terrain, the use of motorized transportation can be a significant challenge. Alternative and low-cost options for
such areas include animate energy and the use of mechanical ropeways5.
In parts of Nepal, ropeways have dramatically reduced transportation of
farm produce from 3–4 hours to a mere five minutes (Bates et al., 2009).
Processing options involve transforming fruits and vegetables into other
forms of foodstuff with longer life spans (see Table 2.14). Energy for
cooking and drying (solar drying) is an important input for transforming fruits and vegetables into longer-lasting food products that can go
on the shelf or to market, thereby extending consumers’ access and
increasing the income of small scale poor rural farmers. However, it is
noteworthy that for more-sophisticated industrial-level food processing, during which food is transformed into high-value products such
as canned food, a significant amount of modern forms of energy are
required, such as electricity and steam. Due to the limited access to
modern forms of energy in rural areas, where most food is grown, most
advanced food processing plants in developing countries are located in
urban areas, in some cases far away from where the crops are grown,
thereby denying rural areas of employment opportunities.
Industrial-scale agricultural production, while in some cases providing
less local employment, has also contributed to increasing overall food
production. In the case of basic grains, the globalization of markets for
rice, soya, wheat, maize, and other staples implies that the benefits of
energy inputs in one country can benefit consumers in other countries
due to global trading systems. Without exception, these systems have
5
A ropeway is a form of lifting device used to transport light goods across rivers or
ravines.
174
2.6
Energy and Transport
Mobility is an essential requirement that ensures the delivery of goods
and services. For the poor, it is an essential factor in providing options
for employment, production, and livelihoods. The more limited the transport options, often due to lack of access to energy, the more limited the
livelihood options.
In recent years, the high cost of motorized transport due to rising oil
prices is a major challenge, especially for the poor in developing countries who need to transport to take their agricultural produce to the
market and to take up employment.
In rural areas, poor road conditions and networks limit the availability of
motorized transport. Consequently, in some rural areas of sub-Saharan
Africa, Asia, and Latin America, people walk 10 kilometers a day one
way to attend to their chores (e.g., fuelwood or water collection, farm
work) as well as attend school or visit health facilities (See Chapter 9).
In urban areas, the high cost of public transport has a negative impact
on the poor. Table 2.15 shows the proportion of income spent by the
poor on motorized transport in selected cities.
In poorer parts of the developing world, particularly sub-Saharan Africa
and some parts of Asia, the urban poor cannot afford motorized transport and largely rely on walking. The relatively high cost of motorized
transport for the urban poor is partially linked to the limited attention
Table 2.15 | Proportion of urban poor’s income spent on motorized transport in four
cities.
City
Colombo
Share of income spent on
motorized transport (%)
21
Mumbai
15
Manila
14
São Paulo
8
Source: Chapter 9; Gomide, 2008; Kumarage, 2007; Baker et al., 2005.
Energy, Poverty,
Chapter
2
and Development
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
300,000,000
300
Number of 2&3 wheelers
250,000,000
250
200,000,000
200
150,000,000
150
100,000,000
100
50,000,000
50
China
India
Indonesia
Number of 2&3 wheelers
Philippines
Thailand
2035
2025
2015
2010
2005
2035
2025
2015
2010
2005
2035
2025
2015
2010
2005
2035
2025
2015
2010
2005
2035
2025
2015
2010
2005
2035
2025
2015
2010
0
2005
0
Number of 2&3 wheelers/1000 people
350
Vietnam
Number of 2&3 wheelers/1000 people
Figure 2.13 | Population of 2 and 3-wheelers in selected Asian countries6. Source: CAI-Asia, 2011.
being paid to the development of energy-efficient non-motorized transport options and of low-cost efficient mass transit systems in cities of
developing countries. Most road network systems and infrastructure
in these cities appear to favor the convenience of private motorized
transport, although most people use either non-motorized transport or
motorized public transport.
In the cities, the increased demand for low-cost motorized transport,
especially for short trips, has led to a sharp increase of two- and threewheelers in developing countries, especially in Asia (see Figure 2.13).
In Asia more than two-thirds of the total vehicle population consists of
two- and three-wheelers in many countries (Hook and Nadal, 2011).
The relatively high uptake of two- and three-wheelers in developing
countries is mainly linked to their low upfront cost compared with
cars. In certain parts of the developing world, however, such as in subSaharan Africa, two- and three-wheelers have received a mixed reception. Among the poor in both urban and rural areas these vehicles are
perceived as a lucrative source of employment as well as an affordable
and convenient form of motorized transport. But in urban areas of subSaharan Africa, the high rates of fatal accidents linked to undisciplined
driving and absence of dedicated lanes has discouraged use of 2 and
3-wheelers in many sub-Saharan African countries.
Low-cost energy-efficient transportation for both passengers and goods
is crucial for economic development. This is particularly important for
long-distance transit of passengers and goods. Rail transport is considered the least expensive energy-efficient land transport option for
6
In Asian cities 2 and 3-wheelers account for 50–90% of total vehicle fleet.
long-distance passenger travel and has been developed extensively in
industrial countries in the form of surface and underground rail networks.
For freight transportation, with the exception of India and China, many
developing countries make limited use of lower-cost energy-efficient rail
transport mainly due to its lack of sustained investment.
2.7
Energy and Education
While basic educational services and basic literacy can be achieved
without the use of cleaner energy inputs, access to energy services can
improve the quality and availability of educational services and increase
the likelihood that children will attend and complete school (IEA, 2010a;
UNDP, 2005; UN-Energy, 2005).
Global education goals place emphasis on the primary education due
to its long-lasting impact on literacy and social inclusion. According to
recent estimates of the World Bank (2010a), about 50 developing countries have already achieved the goal of universal primary education.
Although seven others are likely to attain the goal by 2015, nearly 40
developing countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, are very unlikely to
achieve universal primary education by 2015 (World Bank, 2010a). This
is clearly indicated in Figure 2.14. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest
proportion of countries seriously off track in making progress toward
universal primary education.
Modern, cleaner and affordable energy options can help create a
more child-friendly environment that encourages school attendance
and reduces the significant dropout rates experienced in many lowincome countries (Mapako, 2010; UNEP, undated). For example, cleaner
and affordable energy can enhance access to clean water, sanitation,
175
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
Table 2.16 | Impact of rural electrification on children’s study time in Bhutan
(number of children).
100
50
Electrification
status
0
< 1 hour
1–2 hours
67
23
Non-electrified
71
Total (children)
138
Electrified
-50
Study hours of children in the evenings
>2 hours
Total
(children)
21
111
32
7
110
55
28
221
Source: Bhandari, 2006.
-100
East Asia
& Pacific
Europe &
Central
Asia
Reached target
On track
Latin
Middle East
America & & North
Caribbean
Africa
Off track
South
Asia
Seriously off track
Sub-Saharan
Africa
Insufficient data
Figure 2.14 | Status of progress (%) on achieving universal primary education.
Source: World Bank, 2010a.
lighting, space heating/cooling, and energy for cooking lunch (and other
meals in the case of boarding schools).
There is growing evidence of the positive impact of rural electrification
(particularly grid extension to rural schools) on the retention of the math
and science teachers who are much sought after in rural areas. When the
general quality of life increases due to the rural electrification, teachers
are willing to relocate to rural schools thus mitigating the problem of
shortage of teachers in rural areas (AllAfrica, 2004; Cabraal et al., 2005;
World Bank, 2008a; Harsdorff and Peters, 2010).
Electricity can facilitate access to educational media and communications
in schools and in homes. It can increase use of distance-learning modules.
Access to electricity provides the opportunity to use more sophisticated
equipment for teaching (such as overhead projectors, computers, printers, photocopiers, and science equipment), which allows wider access to
more-specialized teaching materials and courses (Mapako, 2010).
In addition, cleaner energy systems and efficiently designed buildings
reduce heating/cooling costs and thus school fees thus increasing the
poor’s access to education. As discussed in more detail in Chapter 6, education is the key for higher world economic growth. Education is a longterm investment associated with near-term costs, but in the long-term it is
arguably one of the best investments societies can make for their future.
One of the indicators for monitoring progress in universal primary education is the proportion of pupils who start grade one and reach the
last grade of primary school. Often children, especially girls, face family
pressure to contribute to household energy supplies through the collection of wood and other fuels and of water for home heating and
cooking purposes. Access to cleaner fuels, efficient stoves, and alternative fuelwood management practices can reduce fuel collection times
significantly, which can translate into increased time for education of
rural children.
176
When families make the hard decision as to which children to keep
home from school to help with such activities as fuel and water fetching
and basic cooking and cleaning, preference is often given to boys’ education over that for girls, whose traditional roles mean these tasks fall
disproportionately on them and they are withdrawn from school before
completing the full primary cycle (UNDP, 2004). (See also Section 2.10
on Energy and Women.)
When girls who do go to school help their mothers in the kitchen, they
lose valuable study time (Mapako, 2010). In addition, inhalation of kitchen smoke exposes them to illnesses associated with the respiratory
system, which can lead to significant school absenteeism from poor
health. Cleaner energy options, especially in rural areas, can free up time
for girls to study and improve their academic performance.
For both boys and girls, modern energy options can provide quality lighting
for comfortable night-time studying (Mapako, 2010). A study in Bhutan
found that with modern forms of energy options such as electricity, children can study much later in the evening (see Table 2.16). In addition, good
lighting reduces risks to children’s eyesight (WHO, 2011a). In many rural
areas of the developing world, energy for transportation is also essential if
children are to reach schools that are beyond walking distance.
One of the suitable ways to enhance access to cleaner and affordable
energy in schools and other institutions of learning is to piggy-back
on existing school-related programs. For example, the World Food
Programme has introduced “school feeding” initiatives in many developing countries. These focus on poverty-stricken areas as a means of
encouraging primary school attendance through the incentive of onsite
meals, thus combating malnutrition among the poor (WFP, 2010). Use of
improved biomass stoves in the school feeding initiatives reduces cost
as well as provides live demonstrations of improved cookstoves and
encourages local people to adopt cleaner and more-efficient stoves.
To sum up, access to cleaner and affordable energy options can contribute to achieving universal primary education as well as enhance the
quality of education (Meisen and Akin, 2008; Mapako, 2010; Harsdorff
and Peters, 2010):
• Providing improved cookstoves that reduce the cost of school feeding programs, which is instrumental in maintaining high attendance
levels in rural primary schools;
-20
-30
-40
-50
• Allowing children to study after school hours, which can have a
significant impact on learning outcomes; and
• Saving girls’ time doing household chores, thereby giving them time
to study at home and also attend school.
2.8
Energy and Health
Modern health services, the facilities to provide them, and the professional and health sector workers who deliver them require access to
energy options in the form of electricity and cleaner and affordable fuels
for both institutional and household use. Detailed energy-related health
issues are covered in greater depth in Chapter 4.
Public expenditures on health care provision in developing countries
have typically been low. When public-sector spending on health services increases, urban and peri-urban areas are often been given priority, leaving the rural poor with inadequate health care options that
are distant and of poor quality as well as often unaffordable. Access to
health care services varies based not only on the rural-urban divide but
also on the income bracket of the people and families in question.
From a human development point of view, the most grievous negative
health effects are loss of life, especially among the youngest and most
vulnerable, as well as shortened life spans due to poor overall living
conditions. Global efforts have prioritized reducing infant mortality in
recent years. While deaths of children below the age of five dropped in
developing countries by more than 25% between 1990 and 2008, the
absolute number of children dying before age five increased (UN, 2010a;
World Bank 2010a). Sub-Saharan Africa appears to have made the least
progress in terms of reducing child mortality (see Figure 2.15) with one
child in seven there dying before the age of five (World Bank, 2010a).
Ea
st
Af
ric
a
So
ut
Su
h
bAs
Sa
ia
ha
ra
n
Af
ric
a
H
ig
h
In
co
m
e
&
N
C
or
th
As
Am
er
ic
a
&
C
en
tra
l
Pa
ci
&
ia
La
tin
• Enabling access to educational media and communication in schools
and at home, hence increasing education opportunities and allow
distance learning;
Eu
ro
pe
As
Ea
st
• Providing the opportunity to use advanced teaching aids and
equipment (overhead projector, computer, and science equipment);
ia
ar
ib
be
an
-60
fic
• Retaining qualified teachers in rural areas by providing electricity for
their residences;
-10
&
• Introducing cleaner energy systems and efficient building design
that reduce heating/cooling costs and thus school fees which, in
turn, expands the poor’s access to education;
0
M
id
dl
e
• Helping to create a more child-friendly environment (access to
clean water, sanitation, lighting, and space heating or cooling), thus
improving attendance at school and reducing dropout rates;
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
Reduction of infant mortality rate,
1990-2008 (%)
Energy, Poverty,
Chapter
2
and Development
Figure 2.15 | Reduction of infant mortality rate. Source: World Bank, 2010a.
The leading causes of under-five child mortality worldwide (after neonatal causes) are diarrhea and pneumonia (14% each), both of which
can be directly linked to inadequate access to cleaner and affordable
energy options (UN 2010a).
In the case of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea that has a particularly detrimental impact on children’s health, the contributing factors
that are energy-related include lack of pumping systems from clean
water sources, lack of energy or fuels to boil water, and lack of industrial
processes for water treatment and purification.
Pneumonia cases among children under the age of five from poor households are mainly linked to household air pollution due to reliance on
traditional biomass for cooking (WHO, 2006). The inefficient burning of
solid fuels in an open fire or traditional stove indoors creates a dangerous cocktail of hundreds of pollutants, primarily carbon monoxide and
small particles, but also nitrogen oxides, benzene, butadiene, formaldehyde, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and many other health-damaging
chemicals. Day in and day out, for hours at a time, women and small
children breathe in amounts of smoke equivalent to consuming two
packs of cigarettes per day. Where coal is used, additional contaminants
such as sulfur, arsenic, and fluorine may also be present in the air – see
Chapter 4 for a more detailed assessment of the health impacts of using
solid fuels.
As shown in Figure 2.16, the prevalence of tuberculosis is highest
in developing countries that predominantly use traditional biomass
energy for cooking. As noted earlier, modern, cleaner and affordable
energy options for cooking can play a significant role in reducing acute
respiratory infections such as tuberculosis by improving the kitchen
environment where women and infants spend a significant amount
of time (WHO, 2006; see also Chapter 4). Examples of energy options
177
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
In some sub-Saharan African countries, life expectancy has actually
reverted to below 1970 levels over the last two decades. Largely due
to deaths from Human Immunodeficiency Virus /Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS), this is the case in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe (UNDP, 2010). The HIV pandemic appears to be disproportionately affecting women, tragically highlighted by the phenomenon
of AIDS orphans being raised by grandmothers – a common occurrence
in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa (UN, 2011a). Although the global
spread of HIV has finally begun to slow worldwide, combating this global pandemic requires energy services in a variety of applications. For
example, safe disposal of used hypodermic syringes by incineration prevents re-use and the potential further spread of HIV/AIDS.
Figure 2.16 | Tuberculosis prevalence by region. Source: WHO, 2011b.
that could replace the traditional biomass energy for cooking include
improved fuelwood and charcoal cookstoves, kerosene, LPG, ethanol,
and biogas.
The quality of the medical care available in health care institutions can
be determined by access to energy services. Examples include electricity
for illumination and communication, to power diagnostic machines and
provide refrigeration for medicines, fuels for hot water and sterilization
processes to maintain sanitary conditions, and fuels to provide space
heating or cooking.
One of the critical moments in a person’s life for access to health care
facilities is during pregnancy and birth. Every year, hundreds of thousands of women die from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth, most of which are preventable. About 99 percent of these deaths
occur in developing countries. Indeed, childbirth and complications during childbirth are still the leading cause of death among women aged
20 to 45 in developing countries (UNFPA, 2005). In some areas, one in
every seven pregnant women dies in childbirth (WHO, 2008).
Access to health care in the first trimester of pregnancy and having doctors attend births is directly correlated with improved maternal health and
reduced infant mortality (UNFPA, 2009). In rural areas of sub-Sahara Africa,
women often deliver without skilled care. About a third of maternal deaths
are due to hemorrhage that could be stopped by skilled medical personnel.
Many complications associated with pregnancy can be detected and
rectified early with the use of advanced technologies such as ultrasound equipment, which needs a reliable source of electrical power.
The absence of electricity in rural areas denies rural women such essential health services. Thus both directly (through support the provision
of health services) and indirectly (by removing barriers to attracting
medical personnel), access to electricity in rural areas can contribute to
averting needless maternal deaths.
178
Education, prevention, condom use, and reproductive health services
for women and men are key ingredients to combating new AIDS infections. These require communication campaigns, distribution routes for
condoms, and health workers to reach at-risk populations, all of which
benefit from energy services in terms of transportation and communication. When HIV infections occur, quality of life and longevity are directly
related to access to medical services, anti-retroviral drugs, and overall health maintenance, including good nutrition. Clean energy options
for the poor can contribute to improving access to health services and
ensure better nutrition.
The challenging nexus of energy, poverty, and health can also be found
in industrial countries. The symptoms of energy problems of the poor in
richer industrialized economies include high levels of debt to the energy
utilities, disconnections from supply because of debt, cold homes in winter, and an increase of cold-related ill health and death. During hot weather periods, energy is needed to power fans and home conditioning.
Inadequate access can lead to increased ill health and death of elderly
people. The 2003 heat wave in Western Europe led to 35,000 deaths
(Bhattacharya, 2003).
A concerted international effort to meet the globally agreed development goals related to human health is starting to make inroads, but
more resources need to be allocated to cleaner low-cost energy options
for powering for pro-poor health services.
To sum up, there are several health-related benefits associated with
access to modern, cleaner and affordable energy options. Electricity
in health centers allows the provision of medical services at night,
greater use of more advanced medical equipment as well as helps
retain qualified staff in rural health centers. Energy for refrigeration
can facilitate vaccination and medicine storage for the prevention
and treatment of diseases and infections. Energy is needed to generate and maintain basic sanitary conditions to support health services.
Finally, energy is needed to develop, manufacture, and distribute
drugs, medicines, and vaccinations as well as to provide access to
health education media through information and communications
technologies.
Energy, Poverty,
Chapter
2
and Development
2.9
Energy and Water
Sanitation and access to improved water in developing nations are
key environmental concerns of the poor. Recent estimates indicate
that about 1.2 billion people lack access to safe water (IAEA, 2007;
UN Women, 2011) and about 2.6 billion people lack access to toilets,
latrines, and other forms of improved sanitation in developing countries
(UN, 2011). Progress has been slowest in South Asia and sub-Saharan
Africa. To halve the proportion of people without basic sanitation by
2015, more than 1.3 billion people would have to gain access to an
improved facility (World Bank, 2010a).
On the positive side, rapid progress is being made in improving access
to safe water, especially in East Asia, where access to drinking water
increased by 30% between 1990 and 2008 (UN, 2010a) to reach 89% of
the population. Access to safe water in Latin America in 2008 reached
93%, while for developing countries as a whole the figure was 84%
(UN, 2010a). These encouraging indicators of progress are marred by
the appalling situation in sub-Saharan Africa where only 48% of rural
households have access to piped clean water (World Bank, 2011a).
The higher safe water access that characterize richer developing countries hide a continuing rural-urban divide. Figure 2.17 compares access
to improved water supply in rural and urban areas in selected developing countries. In most developing countries, a much larger proportion of
the urban population enjoys access to improved sources of water (which
includes household piped water connection, public standpipe, borehole,
protected well or spring, and rainwater collection).
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
Inadequate supplies of safe water and poor sanitation, particularly
in rural areas accounts for nearly 80% of all illnesses in developing countries (BPN, 2010). In addition, patients with waterborne ailments account for half of the people in hospital beds (TWP, 2010;
BPN, 2010). Some of these ailments include cholera, typhus, and dysentery, which account for an annual death toll of 1.6 million deaths
(SODIS, 2010b).
Access to water is key to not only improved health but also to increased
agricultural output through irrigation
Lack of sanitation facilities in many developing countries contributes
to a loss of a sense of dignity, especially among the poor. Inadequate
access to sanitation has a disproportionate large impact on women
and girls, especially during menstruation. Lack of adequate sanitation
in schools in many developing countries has been reported as a key
contributor to absenteeism and even school dropouts among one in ten
girls at the puberty stage (IMW, 2008; WaterAid, 2009).
Access to modern and affordable forms of energy can play a vital role
in improving access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries. Some of the energy solutions available are very low-cost and do
not require electricity or fossil fuels. For example, solar water disinfection (SODIS) only requires a clear glass or plastic polyethylene terephthalate bottle, which is filled with water and placed on the roof in the
sun for at least six hours to eliminate most disease-causing pathogens
(Wegelin and Sommer, 1997; EAWAG/SANDEC, 2002; Foran, 2007;
SODIS, 2010a).
100
80
60
40
20
0
% of rural population with access
% of urban population with access
Figure 2.17 | Access to improved sources of water (%), selected developing countries, 2008. Source: adapted from World Bank, 2011a.
179
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
Table 2.17 | Scientific results of solar water disinfection technology.
Bacteria
Disease caused by
bacteria
Reduction with SODIS
method (6h, 40°C)
Escherichia coli
Indicator for water quality
& enteritis
99.999%
Vibrio cholera
Cholera
99.999%
Salmonella species
Typhus
99.999%
Shigella flexneri
Dysentery
99.999%
Campylobacter jejuni
Dysentery
99.999%
Yersinia enterocolitica
Diarrhea
99.999%
Virus
Disease caused by
virus
Rotavirus
Diarrhea, dysentery
Polio virus
Polio
Hepatitis virus
Hepatitis
Reduction with SODIS
method (6h, 40°C)
90%
Biogas technology can also be used to improve sanitary conditions in
large institutions such as schools, hospitals, and prisons. In Africa, prisons in Rwanda and Kenya have used large-scale biogas plants resolve
long-standing sanitation challenges (Ashden Awards for Sustainable
Energy, 2005). The gas is used for cooking, thereby reducing woodfuel
consumption by half. Similar applications, but at a smaller scale, have
been reported in other African and Asian countries, where biogas technology has been adopted in schools and mainly used for cooking (Huba
and Paul, 2007; AFREPREN/FWD, 2010).
Giardia species
Giardiasis
Cysts rendered inactive
Cryptosporidium species
Cryptosporidiasis
Cysts rendered inactive
after >10h exposure
The challenge of providing safe water and sanitation facilities is still
immense particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where more than half the
urban population lives in slums; a sizable part of the more than 825 million people living in urban dwellings without improved sources of drinking water and sanitation (World Bank, 2010a). Solar, wind, handpumps
and biogas options can play an important role in enhanced access to
safe water and sanitation in low-income peri-urban and urban of subSaharan Africa.
Amoeba species
Amibiasis
Not rendered inactive
Water temperature must be
above 50 °C for at least 1h
to render inactive
2.10
Parasites
Disease caused by
parasite
99.99%
Reports from users
Reduction with SODIS
method (6h, 40°C)
Notes: 1) The SODIS method needs relatively clear water. The source of the water (well,
surface water) does not matter. 2) Relative levels of pathogens used in tests.
Source: SODIS, 2009.
As shown in table 2.17, through heat and ultraviolet radiation from the
sun, SODIS can reduce diarrhea-related cases in developing countries by
nearly 40% (Wegelin and Sommer, 1997; EAWAG/SANDEC, 2002; Foran,
2007; Heaselgrave et al., 2006; SODIS, 2010a).
Low-cost mechanical options can play an important role in ensuring access to safe water. For example, hand pumps and wind pumps
are robust technologies that can dramatically expand access to safe
water for domestic use as well as for irrigation and watering livestock.
Hand-pumps and wind-pumps are well suited for rural areas as they are
robust and their maintenance is relatively simple. The ease-of-maintenance of hand-pumps has been demonstrated in Uttar Pradesh, India,
where women have successfully repaired hand pumps, thereby ensuring
a continuous flow of clean water (WaterAid, 2009).
There are other cleaner energy options but somewhat higher-cost
cleaner energy options that can address problems of sanitation and at
the same time provide energy. For example, a biogas digester linked to a
toilet can be an effective means of treating sewage (Karekezi and Ranja,
1997), while the methane gas produced can be used for heating applications such as cooking or running a genset7 to produce electricity. This
7
technology is widely used in Asian countries, especially in Bangladesh,
Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Nepal, and Sri Lanka (SNV 2007).
A “genset” is also known as an “engine-generator,” which is a machine used to
generate electricity.
180
Energy and Women
Promoting gender equality and empowering women is an agreed national
and global priority and is reflected in major global conferences and intergovernmental agreements on the need to enhance the status of women,
including in economic and political life (CEDAW, 2011). In 1979, the UN
General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women to protect fundamental human
rights and equality for women around the world (CEDAW, 2011).
Global studies indicate that a higher percentage of women than men live in
poverty (UNECA, 2010). Gender-related studies of the poor in sub-Saharan
Africa, parts of South Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrate that poverty affects women and men differently, with women often
experiencing the most severe levels of deprivation, in part, demonstrated
by inadequate access to cleaner energy options (Karekezi et al., 2002).
Gender equality and empowering women are also important issues
because they foster progress toward other development outcomes,
such as reducing poverty, hunger, and disease and improving access
to education and maternal health. Educational opportunities for girls
have expanded since 1990. Enrollment patterns in upper-middle-income
countries now resemble those in high-income countries, and those in
lower-middle-income countries are nearing equity. However, gender
gaps remain large in low-income countries, especially at the primary
and secondary levels in sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 2010a).
Girls in poor households and rural areas are least likely to be enrolled in
school. Cultural attitudes and practices also pose formidable obstacles
Energy, Poverty,
Chapter
2
and Development
to gender parity. Currently, 64 developing countries have achieved gender parity in primary schools and 21 others are on track to achieving the
target. However, about 29 countries (more than two-thirds of them in
sub-Saharan Africa) are seriously off track and unlikely to achieve parity
by 2015 if current trends prevail (World Bank, 2010a).
Wider access to cleaner and affordable energy options can improve
gender parity and school enrollment of girls. For example, access to
cleaner energy options (electricity for lighting in schools and cleaner
cooking fuels at home such as LPG) can extend studying hours for girls
by reducing the time they spent collecting fuel. Access to pumped water
can reduce the time that girls spend carrying water for household use.
Ensuring girls in developing countries are educated is important for their
future life as mothers. Global evidence has shown that better-educated
women will chose to have fewer children and have more access to
family planning methods, while illiterate women overall are the least
well able to gain access to health services and medical care at large
(UNFPA, 2008; SIL International, 2011). The cycle of exclusion from education and literacy arising from preoccupation with household chores
of collecting fuel, water, cooking, cleaning and looking after younger
children can lead to early onset of reproduction and a higher risk for
maternal health caused by frequent multiple pregnancies. According to
Population Action International (2001), teenage mothers face twice the
risk of dying from childbirth as women in their twenties. In addition,
their children are more vulnerable to health risks.
Although most rural households use biomass, women in poor households
will spend more time searching for firewood than those in households
with higher incomes (Energia, 2008). In areas where there is decreased
vegetation cover, women and children are required to walk longer distances to collect firewood (Ekouevi, 2001; Kammen et al., 2001; Ward,
2002; ESMAP, 2003; BIC, 2009). As shown in Figure 2.18, in Africa this
can take up to four hours a day (Njenga, 2001; WHO, 2006) – and these
distances increase as wood from stressed ecosystems.
4.5
4.0
3.5
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
The energy that women and girls expend fetching water, carrying fuel,
and preparing food has received virtually no treatment in traditional
energy sector policies because, as it is not traded, it has no “price” as
determined by the market and therefore is considered “free.” The time
people spend carrying water that is not transported by pumping systems or fuels that have been harvested or bought locally, or pounding
and grinding maize, wheat, rice, sorghum, or other basic staples, has an
opportunity cost. It is time that could otherwise be spent on more economically productive or socially beneficial activities such as paid agricultural work, commercial activities, pursuit of education, or physical rest
to preserve the health of women, especially the poorest women.
Access to mechanical power for threshing and grinding grains can help
older girls stay in school by minimizing school absenteeism and drop-out
rates among girls. It is difficult to change cultural practices where food
preparation is assumed to be the responsibility of women and girls. With
mechanical power, however, food preparation can be made easier and
faster, which liberates valuable time for girls to study and attend school.
Lack of close proximity to safe water places a huge burden on women
and girls in many developing countries. For example, on average, women
travel 6 kilometers daily in search of water (IAEA, 2007; BPN, 2010). In rural
areas, the distances walked by women can be as high as 16 kilometers;
during drought, the distance could be at least twice as long (IMW, 2008).
The long distances travelled carrying a load of approximately 20kg pose serious long-term health risks for women, including spine and pelvic deformities that can create complications during childbirth (WaterAid, 2009). In
addition, these distances imply that a significant amount of time is spent
obtaining this precious commodity, especially in rural areas. According
to WaterAid (2009), in rural Africa, about 26% of women’s time is spent
fetching water. In rural Ghana, a study by Costa et al. (2009) revealed that
women spend far more time than men fetching water (see Figure 2.19).
As noted earlier, fuelwood is not always collected. Often it is a commercial commodity bought and sold through markets like any other fuel.
This is especially the case in urban areas, where cleaner liquid fuels are
either unavailable or unaffordable for poor families. Here, too, women
must spend time on the purchase and transport of traditional fuels for
household use. And this too has an opportunity cost for women.
= 0h
2.5
2.0
82.8
0 - 5hs
Male
Hours per Day
3.0
1.5
5 - 10hs
14.5
2.3
10 - 15hs
0.3
15+ hs
0.1
1.0
= 0h
0.0
Female
0.5
41.5
5 - 10hs
10 - 15hs
15+ hs
Figure 2.18 | Time ticking away: daily hours that women spend collecting fuel in different African geographical settings, by country, 1990–2003. Source: WHO, 2006.
34.1
0 - 5hs
17.1
4.6
2.8
Figure 2.19 | Comparison of time spent by men and women fetching water in rural
Ghana (hours/week). Source: Costa et al., 2009.
181
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
While improved biomass energy technologies such as cookstoves
have several benefits for poor women, a more pronounced switch to
cleaner fuels and more efficient cooking devices can lead to increased
economic, health, and environmental benefits. As shown in Table 2.18,
for example, in India, using a typical LPG stove for cooking can reduce
cooking time by slightly over 1 hour compared with a conventional
woodstove (Kanagawa and Nakata, 2005). Similar benefits can also be
accrued from use of ethanol stoves.
The use of improved cookstoves can result in savings in the amount of
fuel used, which translates into direct cash savings. They can also reduce
respiratory health problems associated with smoke emission from biomass stoves and offer a better home and working environment for rural
housewives and cooks/operators in institutions.
The production and dissemination of improved biomass energy technologies and associated sustainable fuel supply initiatives provide
employment opportunities for a significant proportion of the population,
particularly women. In Senegal, for example, the sustainable forestry subsector earns the country about US2004$12.5 million a year, with women in
control of one-third of this revenue stream (World Bank, 2010a).
The development linkages between women and energy are not limited
to cooking fuels and water collection challenges, although policy and
analysis in development debates often stops there. Women are disproportionately affected by the lack of cleaner and affordable energy
options for maintaining households and enterprises that can be a source
of income (Energia, 2008). This is particularly perverse given that the
best means to combat absolute poverty is through the stimulation and
increase in women’s income – either through productive activities or targeted state transfers aimed at women. Women have a relatively higher
propensity to reinvest in family welfare expenditures such as food, education, and health, especially for their dependent children.
Women are key users of energy for productive activities, and as is the case
for productive employment for men, access to labor-saving energy-using
technologies allows the amount of time spent on non-paid work to be
reduced in favor of time spent on paid work, which greatly improves the
overall welfare of women, their families, and especially their children. The
Table 2.18 | Comparison of cooking times (in hours) of woodstove and LPG in India.
Time spent on cooking-related activities
Fuel collectiona
Total time
Woodstove
0.67
2.73
3.4
Gas Stove
-
2.30
2.30
0.67
0.43
1.10
Time saved by gas
stoves
a
Food preparation
and cooking
The time spent taking gas cylinders for refilling is negligible when spread over the
time the newly refilled gas cylinder is used.
Source: adapted from Kanagawa and Nakata, 2005.
182
limited access to cleaner energy and labor-saving technological options
therefore has a double negative effect on women: first through limiting
the opportunities to generate income and second through the forgone
benefits that the additional income could bring to poor families when
spent by women on inputs and services that benefit the family.
Affordable and reliable energy options can broaden the scope of women’s
enterprises. In West Africa, for example, mechanical power to grind grains
and other agricultural products through a fee-for-service model not only
was able to meet household grain consumption processing needs but
also freed up women’s time for other household and agricultural activities
(Morris and Kirubi, 2009). In addition, the volumes of milled grain produced surpluses that could be marketed, thereby supplementing limited
family cash income that was used to support children’s schooling.
The upfront cost of cleaner and affordable energy options is in most
cases beyond the reach of the rural poor. This affects women who are
the major collectors, managers, and users of traditional energy sources
for household activities (BIC, 2009). In developing countries, since
many women lack the money to pay for energy services, small-scale
food production and processing – a large component of which is often
dominated by women – largely relies on human and animal energy
(Clancy, 2004) – further discussion on this issue is found in Chapter 20.
An important approach for enhancing access to cleaner and affordable
energy for women is to develop programs specifically aimed at financing
the upfront costs of energy using equipment for household use as well
as targeting income-generating activities that involve a high number of
women or women’s groups. A number of financing institutions in developing countries have emerged focusing solely on financing women. In
Bangladesh, for example, the Grameen Bank has a credit program in
which 98% of its borrowers are women (Giridharas and Bradsher, 2006).
These funds could be used to mechanize farming and the water supply,
hence reducing the burden on women, as well as improving lighting and
cooking energy technologies at the household level.
Since in many areas women are the primary users of energy, especially for
cooking, it makes sense for them to be involved in designing and implementing policies and projects to meet their own energy needs. Globally,
as more women obtain positions of political leadership, it is anticipated
that the increased political representation by women will have significant
policy implications. For example, it is expected that women politicians are
more likely to push for increased access to cleaner and affordable energy
options that would benefit women and cleaner cooking fuels such as
LPG, ethanol stoves, and improved biomass stoves. Other modern energy
options that benefit women are summarized in Table 2.19.
To sum up, access to cleaner and affordable energy options can play an
important role in gender equality and women empowerment:
• Available energy services can free girls’ and young women’s time
from household activities (gathering firewood, fetching water, cooking inefficiently, crop processing by hand, manual farming work). This
Energy, Poverty,
Chapter
2
and Development
Table 2.19 | Summary of some energy options favoring women.
Energy Option
Electricity
Benefits for women
Radio, TV, and telecommunications can improve access to the
outside world and provide useful information for women.
Street lighting improves safety for women, especially in slum
areas, and enables them to trade after dark.
In urban areas, electricity helps women to cope with modern
lifestyles.
Availability of electricity enables women to operate specialized
enterprises such as hair dressing.
Mechanical power
Women can irrigate crops and water livestock, thereby enhancing
food security and nutrition.
Mechanized tillage and weeding can contribute to higher crop
yields.
Briquette presses can help women obtain cleaner and
sustainable biomass fuel supplies.
Oil presses can help women earn more from agriculture by
selling a higher-value product.
Sources: adapted from Bates et al., 2009; UNDP, 2007a.
time can be productively used to generate more income or acquire
education.
• Cleaner cooking fuels and equipment can reduce exposure to indoor
air pollution and improve health.
• Street lighting can improve women’s safety.
• Modern, cleaner and affordable energy options can broaden the
scope for women’s enterprises, thereby fostering employment and
income generation among women.
• Representation of women at the national level can influence energy
policies and investments to ensure wider access to cleaner and
affordable energy options that benefit women.
• Specific policy initiatives that prioritize “women’s” or household
energy needs, especially for fuels and mechanical power, can provide
a balance to the focus on rural electrification, bringing about a host
of family welfare benefits.
2.11
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
harvesting of biomass fuel, especially from forests, also contributes to
this deforestation. The loss of forests threatens the livelihoods of the
poor, destroys habitats that harbor biodiversity, and eliminates important carbon sinks that offset global warming. Since 1990, forest losses
have been substantial (more than 1.4 million square kilometers), especially in Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, and
sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank, 2010a). Some of this deforestation is
due to excessive harvesting of biomass fuel.
As mentioned earlier, much of the rural deforestation and overharvesting
of fuelwood experienced in sub-Saharan Africa, can, in part, be traced to
trees cut down for feedstock for the charcoal industry. This is not to supply rural consumers with energy but to provide a steady supply of cheap
fuels for cooking and household energy use for urban dwellers, as indicated by the thriving charcoal markets throughout the African continent
(AFREPREN/FWD, 2006a). Important options for addressing the charcoal
and deforestation challenge include dissemination of proven improved
cookstoves such as the charcoal-burning KCJ that can cut charcoal consumption by half and switching to LPG.
As shown in the Figure 2.20, biomass – mainly traditional biomass
biofuels – accounts for about 44% of the world’s final renewable energy
use. The bulk of this supply is from developing countries.
Poor households using open fires and traditional biomass stoves for
cooking, tend to be highly inefficient due to incomplete combustion of
the biomass. Consequently, methane, a more potent greenhouse gas
than carbon dioxide (CO2), is released. The use of traditional and unsustainable biomass cooking energy fuels has significantly higher greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions compared to fuels such as LPG and biogas
(see Chapter 19). Use of cleaner cooking fuels and technologies can
reduce the GHGs of developing countries.
Although developing countries emit fewer emissions on a per capita
basis, in gross terms and, if one ignores, historical emissions or per
capita emissions, some emerging industrializing countries account for
a significant share of current global GHGs emissions comparable to
those of industrialized countries. For example, China’s CO2 emissions
in 2008 exceeded those of the entire European continent and compare
with those of the United States, Canada, and Mexico combined (see
Nuclear, 5%
Energy and Environment
This section briefly discusses energy and environmental sustainability in
the context of development, while the broader issue is covered in depth
in Chapters 3, 4, and 20.
Biofuels, 0,7%
Heat: biomass/geothermal/solar, 1.1%
Electricity: biomass/geothermal/wind
solar/ocean, 1.5%
Electricity: Hydro, 6.1%
Fossil, 78%
Renewables, 17%
Tradional Biomass, 7.4%
Many of the world’s poor depend on forests for their livelihoods as well
as to meet their energy needs for cooking. In sub-Saharan Africa about
80% of the population relies on biomass (IEA, 2010a). Although the
major cause of deforestation comes from land use change, excessive
Figure 2.20 | Renewable share of final energy use in 2009 (528 EJ). Source: fossil
and nuclear fuel use: IEA 2011b; renewables: Chapter 11.
183
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
Chapter 3). However, the picture changes dramatically if historical and
per capita emissions are included. Wealthy western countries of Europe
and North America account for a dominant share of historical emissions
and are by far the highest emitters of GHGs on a per capita basis.
devices such as tube lights, compact fluorescent lamps, biomass cogeneration, ethanol, etc.) are not as capital-intensive as conventional centralized energy options (DuPont, 2009).
It can therefore be argued that the poor in developing countries should
not be restricted when the current high GHGs emissions levels are still
largely a result historical and of high per capita emissions of industrialized countries of North America and Europe.
2.12
On a per capita basis, poor people and poor countries in the world generate fewer GHGs than either the people who are well-off in poor countries
or the inhabitants of industrialized countries. The poor contributions to
global greenhouse gas emissions is negligible. For example, Africa has
very low levels of access to GHGs-intensive energy options and, as a
result, the continent generates only 3% of the global aggregate GHG
emissions (UNIDO, 2009; IEA, 2010b). But lifting the poor out of poverty
through improving access to jobs, social services, and improved living
conditions requires greater energy inputs, as has been argued throughout this chapter, which would inevitably result in increasing emissions
further from the developing countries. Replacement of traditional biomass (with incomplete combustion) with LPG could lead to lower overall
GHG emissions especially when particulate matter is accounted for.
In some cases, wide-scale deployment of renewable energy systems
may provide the best options for providing access to cleaner and modern energy options while reducing GHGs emissions. In the near term,
however, cleaner fossil fuels such as LPG combined with more efficient
and low-cost end-uses devices such as LPG cookstoves reduce a host of
social, economic, and environmental barriers to overcoming poverty due
to higher combustion efficiency.
The ongoing search for win-win solutions in low-income areas of
poor developing countries that are completely reliant on renewable
energy must also put a time premium on overcoming social injustice
and the conditions of inequality that entrench poverty and reproduce
underdevelopment. As mentioned earlier, from a policy point of view,
it is unrealistic to support arguments for “near-term renewables only”
options that delay the satisfaction of the basic needs of people who
remain poor today and who constitute a negligible contributor to global historical and current carbon emissions. It is, therefore, important
to retain cleaner fossil fuel options such as LPG combined with more
efficient low-cost end-use devices in near-term priority action plans that
would set the stage for eventually moving the poor to a fully sustainable
path that relies more heavily on renewable energy.
There is, however, a growing interest on the part of energy decision
makers in developing countries in examining efficient, environmentally
sound, climate-friendly energy options that also deliver substantial
development benefits and reduce the climate risk profile of their energy
industries. Studies indicate that many of these options (such as demandside management, renewable energy use and efficient energy end-user
184
Conclusions and the Way Forward
The intrinsic link and positive relationship between energy and overcoming poverty – whether income-defined poverty or poverty linked to
inequality in income distribution within countries – is very strong in
developing countries. It is clearly demonstrated by the fact that poor
people constitute the bulk of the estimated 3 billion people primarily relying on solid fuels (coal and traditional biomass) of which 2.7
billion people cook and heat their homes with traditional fuels and
low-efficiency stoves (UNDP and WHO, 2009; IEA, 2010a; see also
Chapter 19) and almost one and a half a billion without access to electricity (IEA, 2010a; see also Chapter 19).
Access to electricity supply (both grid and non-grid) in many developing countries is almost an exclusive service enjoyed by the non-poor
in urban areas. Even after two decades of energy sector reforms, initial indications from a wide range of developing countries indicate that
few of the initiatives have resulted in significant improvement in the
provision of electricity to the world’s poor (GNESD, 2010; Karekezi and
Sihag, 2004; IMF, 2008). Access to modern and cleaner forms of energy
improves the livelihoods8 of the poor in developing countries. As discussed in earlier sections, increased access to cleaner energy in rural
areas opens up these regions to greater economic productivity.
In most cases, market-led reforms were primarily designed to improve
the financial health of electricity companies and were introduced into
countries where a large sector of the potential “market” consisted of
very poor people not served by national grids or who resided in geographic areas with low levels of energy use. Expanding access to electricity to the poor meant attempting to service low-income consumers
whose incomes may well be highly unstable and who often live in isolated areas that are difficult to access or in urban areas that are characterized by high degrees of informality. To provide electricity services,
the “reformed” companies had to cover operating and investment costs
(required by market-oriented reforms) while providing expensive transmission lines and connections as well as maintenance, billing, and collection services in a market where return on investment was far from
assured. In the majority of the countries, these contradictory demands
proved to be irreconcilable. It is therefore not surprising that newly privatized or reformed electricity companies tended to “cherry pick” the
most lucrative markets (i.e., non-poor urban areas), raised their tariffs,
and virtually ignored widening of their networks to poorer consumers.
8
Livelihood refers to “means of support, subsistence or securing the necessities of
life.” Livelihoods can be improved through increased agricultural production, better
social welfare – including increased income among other factors.
Energy, Poverty,
Chapter
2
and Development
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
Thus, experiences in developing countries point to an overarching conclusion: when power sector reforms were introduced with the sole
intention of improving the performance of utilities, the expected and
hoped-for social benefits did not necessarily follow. Where governments
maintained a role as instigator or at least regulator of improved access
to electricity by the poor, tariffs for poor households tended to decrease
and levels and rates of electrification tended to increase.
The excessive reliance on private sector-driven approaches that have
proven detrimental to widening access to electricity in many parts of
the developing world, especially sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of
Asia, are also becoming prevalent in efforts to disseminate improved
cookstoves and scale up the use of renewables in developing countries. There is heavy emphasis on bottom-of-the-pyramid profit-driven
approaches with limited attention being paid to the important role
of public interventions that have the resources and long-term horizon to engineer the scale-up required to reach millions of the unelectrified homes in the developing world that currently rely on inefficient
and traditional biomass-based cookstoves to meet their cooking and
heating needs. A more balanced approach is needed that judiciously
combines large-scale and long-term public initiatives with innovative pilot private sector based programs that rely on the bottom-ofthe-pyramid profit-driven small and medium scale enterprises.
In order to ensure that modern, cleaner and affordable forms of energy
are accessed by poor people, the right choice of energy supply has to
be made. For example, large-scale renewable energy technologies have
lower running costs, hence might be, in the long-term, the most attractive
options. In addition, some fossil fuels such as LPG can also be attractive
due to their cleaner combustion and higher efficiency characteristics.
Based on political and policy considerations, there is need to minimize
any delays to the satisfying the basic need of the poor. Therefore, appropriate solutions to overcoming social injustice and the conditions of
inequality that entrench poverty and reproduce underdevelopment must
be achieved within the shortest possible time. It is for this reason that
GEA shares a goal with the UN proposed targets of achieving universal access to electricity and cleaner cooking fuels by 2030 (UN, 2010b).
Current estimates indicate that achieving the aforementioned goal will
require significant investment (see Chapter 17) and political commitment
(see Chapters 19 and 23). In addition, the relationship between poverty
and energy requires a better understanding of the demand profile of this
segment of the energy market and the recognition that poor people are
energy users. This is demonstrated by the fact that, for example, at current
electrification rates it is estimated that about 15% of the world population will not have access to electricity in 2030 (IEA, 2010a). As shown in
Table 2.20, most of these people will be in sub-Saharan Africa and some
parts of Asia. However, it is noted that the IEA baseline contrasts with
GEA pathways of achieving universal access by 2030.
In order for national leaders in developing countries to deliver the muchneeded political commitment required to address the access question,
approaches to dealing with the issue need to be “homegrown.” The
rationale for this approach is that policymakers in developing countries
have successfully used a similar quantified campaign strategy with the
MDGs to accelerate the pursuit of globally agreed social indicators fundamental to overcoming underdevelopment and poverty. The community of nations should adopt global goals for minimum levels of energy
services, especially universal access to electricity and cleaner cooking
fuels, to address poverty and support sustainable human development.
It is worth pointing out that while promoting access to electricity is
generally given more attention due to the services it typically provides,
such as communications, lighting, refrigeration, and motor power,
equally important is the role that nonelectric forms of energy, in particular fuels and mechanical power, play in both the household and the
social sectors. This second set of energy issues has been given much
less attention in energy sector planning, especially in developing countries. In order to ensure that modern, cleaner and affordable forms of
energy are accessed by poor people, the right choice of energy supply
has to be made. For example, large-scale renewable energy technologies have lower running costs, hence might be, in the long-term, the
most attractive options. More challenging still is that while power sector reform has received much attention in developing countries, energy
policies addressed at fuel switching and improving heating and cooking
systems, especially in rural areas, have received very little policy attention in energy sector reform. Electricity is not synonymous with energy,
a concept which is much broader. Some fossil fuels such as LPG can
Table 2.20 | Current and projected electrification levels in developing countries.
2009
Region/Country
Unelectrified population
(million)
Latin America
Sub-Saharan Africa
North Africa
South & East Asia
China
Total
2030
Proportion of all
unelectrified (%)
Unelectrified population
(million)
Proportion of all
unelectrified (%)
31
2.2
10
0.8
585
40.7
652
53.8
2
0.1
2
0.2
812
56.5
549
45.3
8
0.6
0
1438
100.0
1213
0
100.0
Source: adapted from IEA, 2010a; 2010c.
185
Energy, Poverty, and Development
also be attractive due to their cleaner combustion and higher efficiency
characteristics and therefore it is crucially important that all fuel options
are given consideration when designing energy sector strategies. Finally
many of the energy issues treated here fall outside the energy sector
per se and are intimately linked with service and supply decisions taken
in other sectors and policy frameworks including those in education,
health, agriculture, water, housing etc.
As this chapter indicates, for the poorest segments of the population and
especially for poor women and their children, the role of cleaner energy
carriers for cooking, household use and homestead-based productive
activities are disproportionately more important in reducing the dayto-day barriers to education, health, and family food security. Access to
modern and cleaner forms of energy contribute to a general improvement in social welfare – including increased income – due to improved
health, sanitation, education, etc. For example, in Bangladesh, an impact
assessment of its rural electrification revealed that 63% of electrified
households surveyed reported an increase of income as a direct result of
electrification (Berthaud et al., 2004). In Lao PDR rural electrification using
solar systems has demonstrated the viability of decentralized renewable
energy systems in enhancing rural livelihoods through increased income,
improved healthcare and access to information (Theuambounmy, 2007).
In short, to ensure the poor’s access to cleaner and affordable energy
options, energy policy must see the poor as a consuming market
that, when better served, will generate income and opportunities for
value-adding activities that can have benefits at the family, community and sector wide levels. However, the excessive reliance on private
186
Chapter 2
sector-driven approaches that have proven detrimental to widening
access to electricity in many parts of the developing world, especially
sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of Asia, should not become the only
route to expand poor’s access to cleaner energy options. The almost
exclusive recourse to private sector-driven approaches to disseminate
improved cookstoves and scale up the use of renewables in developing
countries is of some concern. There is heavy emphasis on bottom-of-thepyramid profit-driven approaches with limited attention being paid to
the important role of public interventions that have the resources and
long-term horizon to engineer the scale-up required to reach millions
of the unelectrified homes in the developing world that currently rely
on inefficient and traditional biomass-based cookstoves to meet their
cooking and heating needs. A more balanced approach is needed that
judiciously combine large-scale and long-term public initiatives with
innovative pilot private sector based programs that rely on the bottomof-the-pyramid profit-driven small and medium scale enterprises.
Prevailing energy systems in developing countries need transformational
change in order to have a pro-poor orientation as well as to ensure universal access to modern forms of energy and energy services in key economic
sectors providing livelihoods to poor people. In addition, universal access
serves both to advance education and all other concerns, and to avoid the
detrimental effects of dependence on traditional fuels in terms of women’s
time, health effects, pollution, global warming etc. Chapters 17, 19, and
23 discuss how universal access, especially of electricity and cleaner cooking fuels, could be achieved. All GEA pathways lead to universal access to
electricity and cleaner cooking fuels by 2030.
Energy, Poverty,
Chapter
2
and Development
Energy, Poverty, and Development
Chapter 2
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